Nottinghamshire school swaps fossil-fuel heating for heat pumps with £200,000 PSDS grant

Nottinghamshire County Council has replaced fossil-fuel heating at Pierrepont Gamston Primary School with heat pumps in a £551,056 project part-funded by a £200,000 Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme grant, Salix Finance said on 16 October.

Salix, which administers the scheme, said the grant was allocated specifically to the school and contributed towards the total project cost of £551,056.

According to Salix, the works included heat pumps, new radiators, upgraded pipework and a building management system (BMS), together with underfloor heating in the school hall.

Salix client relationship advisor Anna Kuratnikova said: "There have been so many parts to this project, and every decision has been made with the children in mind."

Noise and design

Project manager Matthew Manders said the layout of the site made noise from the heat pumps a particular issue for the project team.

"One particular challenge was managing noise from the heat pumps, given the school site's layout and the potential impact on neighbours, including people using hearing devices," he said.

Manders said a specially designed enclosure was introduced to limit operational noise while letting the equipment work effectively. Salix said the enclosure also carries the school's mascot.

Salix said the underfloor heating in the hall was designed around the needs of younger children, providing warmth at a lower level because the space is mostly used by small pupils.

Salix staff visited the school with Manders, Miller Freeman & Sons Nottingham Ltd director Jim Shaw, school business manager Michelle Slack and Nottinghamshire County Council energy management officer Nick Stendall.

The funding

Item	£
PSDS grant	200,000
Total project cost	551,056

The Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme provides grants to public sector bodies for heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures, according to GOV.UK. The department said it supports the government target of cutting emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037 against a 2017 baseline.

The scheme's most recent round, Phase 4, closed to new applications in November 2024. GOV.UK's recipient list shows 207 public sector organisations were awarded grants for 245 heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency projects in that round, which the department said was aimed at public buildings such as schools and hospitals switching to cleaner heating. Salix said Phase 4 applicants had to contribute at least 12% of total project costs themselves.

In a news item on 8 December 2025, Salix said a summary report on Phase 4 showed 245 projects approved and more than £816m allocated. Ian Rodger, director of public sector decarbonisation at Salix Finance, said at the time that he was pleased with the progress set out in the final-phase report.

Council track record

Salix said the school project forms part of a wider programme to cut carbon emissions across Nottinghamshire's public buildings.

The council has operated a £1.5m Salix revolving fund for more than 10 years, Salix said, and has received over £14m of Salix funding to convert the county's street lights to LED.