PLANS are in the pipeline to spend about £550,000 on a wood fired heating system for Penns Place council offices and the Taro Leisure Centre as part of an ambitious £5m investment in wood chip fuel heating.

East Hampshire District Council is looking at three wood chip boilers and a fuel producing hub.

One will heat the Taro and council building, with an option to provide energy to any new houses built on nearby Penns playing fields, although this option is considered ‘impractical’ at present.

Leading the project is Councillor Adam Carew, who says it is essential that this scheme progresses quickly.

He said: “It is essential the district heating scheme for Penns Place and the Taro is approved if we are to go on to bigger projects at Alton and Bordon.”

A wood chip boiler costing £760,000 is being considered for a new leisure centre in Alton, and a district heating plant and wood refinery and fuel producing facility, costing £3.57m between them, is proposed for Whitehill and Bordon.

If the Penns Place scheme goes ahead, it will save the council about £1.27m over 20 years a report suggests.

Cllr Carew said: “An independent financial and technical study demonstrates that not only is the project feasible, it will make money.

“The advantage of supplying energy ourselves is that as a council actually make money rather than giving it away to fossil fuel companies. The proposal will provide jobs and apprenticeships.”

A building for a wood fired boiler will go on the north side of the leisure centre, by the rugby pitches. From there, underground pipes will feed heat into the building and across the car park to the council offices.

A report has backed the scheme, and now talks between Cllr Carew, council heads of departments, and the council deputy leader Cllr Richard Millard, to progress, or reject, the idea are due to go ahead.

The M3 Local Enterprise Partnership (M3LEP) funding body said a bid for the full cost of building the wood refinery and fuel hub part of the scheme should be submitted to it.

M3LEP passes on government and European Union money and, due to Brexit and recent government changes, the funding criteria may have altered.

Cllr Carew said: “The Government has announced grant aid for woodfuel, although this is aimed primarily at cities. But we remain confident that even if EU money dries up in the wake of Brexit, we can proceed with the project through partnership with wood fuel companies.”