Nottingham Heating Funding to Shape Network Upgrades

By Hiyastar News Desk

Nottingham City Council has secured Government funding for detailed studies into the next phase of the Nottingham district heating network, with work due to begin in June 2026.

The funding, awarded through the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Heat Network Efficiency Scheme, will pay for two optimisation feasibility studies. The work will look at how heat is generated, moved through the network and used in homes, with the findings expected to guide future investment decisions.

The council says the studies are intended to improve performance, support long-term reliability and identify potential carbon savings across parts of a system that has served Nottingham for more than 50 years.

Government funding for network studies

Nottingham’s district heating network was first established in the 1970s and now supplies heat and hot water to around 5,000 domestic and commercial customers.

The system generates heat locally, which the council says helps reduce exposure to volatile wholesale gas markets. At a time when household energy costs remain under pressure, the review will focus on how existing infrastructure can be run more efficiently rather than on immediate service changes.

The Heat Network Efficiency Scheme funding will support technical studies across selected sites, including energy centres, substations and the route from the network into individual homes.

Homes and areas covered by the first phase

The two study areas directly cover homes serving 737 households, while the findings could be applied to wider parts of the network if similar design or performance issues are identified.

Manvers Court is being used as a representative site rather than as a standalone project. The council expects the results to help identify improvements that may also apply to two other identical blocks nearby.

Limited resident contact during assessment work

A small number of households may be contacted as part of information gathering and technical assessment visits. The council says residents will be informed and supported, with any involvement managed to minimise disruption.

No immediate change to bills or service arrangements has been announced. The studies are feasibility work, meaning they are designed to establish where future investment could have the strongest effect on operating costs, reliability and emissions.

Cllr Sam Lux, Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability, said the network had provided low-carbon heat to thousands of homes for more than five decades and that the funding would help identify where future improvements could deliver the greatest benefit for residents.

Findings to guide future investment

Work on the feasibility studies is scheduled to begin in June 2026. The results are expected to inform later decisions on upgrades and investment across Nottingham’s heat network.

Lux said heat networks, like other major infrastructure, benefit from ongoing review and optimisation to keep providing reliable, cost-effective and lower-carbon heat over the long term.

Source: Nottingham City Council