Funded in part by Bristol City Council’s green investment programme, the Bristol Climate Action Investment, Bristol City Leap is set to begin renewable energy upgrades at three council-owned buildings: Belbrook Children’s Respite Unit, Ridingleaze House and Symes House. The improvements are designed to enhance energy efficiency, reduce carbon emissions and lower energy bills.

Following the successful launch of the Bristol Climate Action Investment in 2025, the council raised £2 million thanks to wide support from residents and businesses keen to invest in a greener future for the city.

The work will be carried out by Bristol City Leap, powered by Ameresco UK, who will replace existing fossil-fuelled heating systems with new air source heat pumps at all three sites. At Belbrook Children’s Respite Unit, a children’s short break service that supports disabled children and their families, the works will provide a broader package of improvements, including a new rooftop array of solar panels, upgraded LED lighting and additional loft insulation alongside the heating upgrade. The measures will reduce bills and carbon emissions and improve energy efficiency, keeping warmth in to create a more comfortable environment for service users and staff.

At Ridingleaze House and Symes House, both used by Bristol City Council’s Children and Young People Services, the works will replace ageing fossil-fuel boiler systems with low-carbon air source heat pumps and associated upgrades to the pipes, radiators and controls.

The three sites were prioritised because they are among the top 30 carbon emitters in Bristol City Council’s corporate estate and were identified as suitable for decarbonisation through the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS). The project is being supported by Bristol City Council’s Decarbonisation Fund and the Government’s PSDS funding.

Together, the upgrades are expected to save an estimated 28 tonnes of CO2e each year, roughly the same as taking around 19 average petrol cars off the road for a year, while cutting energy use by 154,008kWh, enough to power around 57 typical UK homes for a year.

Reducing reliance on fossil fuels and improving energy resilience through upgrading ageing energy infrastructure is increasingly important to ensure that key public buildings can continue to operate reliably, efficiently and cost-effectively in the years ahead. By upgrading ageing heating systems and improving overall building performance, the council can reduce its exposure to volatile energy costs, lower reliance on fossil fuels and help make council buildings better equipped to support essential services. These improvements are particularly valuable in buildings that serve children, families and communities, where dependable, well-performing infrastructure is critical.

Justin Jacober, Managing Director at Ameresco UK:

“This project is a strong example of how Bristol City Leap is helping Bristol City Council take practical action to decarbonise important public buildings. By replacing gas heating with air source heat pumps and introducing additional energy-saving measures such as solar PV, LED lighting and loft insulation at Belbrook Children’s Respite Unit, we are helping to reduce emissions, modernise ageing infrastructure and support more efficient buildings for the people who use them every day.”

“We’re proud to be working in partnership to deliver improvements that support both environmental goals and public services, particularly at sites that play such an important role in supporting children, families and communities across Bristol.”

Councillor Abi Finch, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee at Bristol City Council:

“We’re pleased to announce that works to install energy efficiency improvements are soon underway. These upgrades are another important step in Bristol’s journey towards a cleaner, net-zero future. By improving buildings such as Belbrook Children’s Respite Unit, Ridingleaze House and Symes House, we are investing in infrastructure that supports vital council services while helping to reduce emissions from our estate.”

“The two investment windows we opened last year through the Bristol Climate Action Investment were a huge success, raising £2 million and hitting our investment target early, following strong demand by investors and funding from two major private investors, the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Unity Trust Bank. This shows great support for climate action through the council’s local green investment.”

“Bristol City Council remains committed in its efforts to help to decarbonise the city delivering practical change in the buildings our staff, residents, children and families rely on. Through the Bristol Climate Action Investment we engaged the people and communities of Bristol to invest at a local level, while continuing to play our part in achieving progress towards the city’s climate goals”

The works form part of a wider decarbonisation initiative focused on Bristol City Council’s corporate estate. The programme is intended not only to lower operational emissions but also to improve building performance and support long-term sustainability across the council’s estate.

The post Bristol City Leap to Upgrade Key Public Buildings, Boosting Energy Efficiency and Resilience appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

Who are you, what are you studying, and how did you find the internship?

My name is Sisir, and I study Biomedical Science at the University of Warwick. I am about to enter my third year.

I found the Bristol City Leap (BCL) internship on LinkedIn while looking for an opportunity to experience a different industry. I knew very little about the energy sector, but that was part of the appeal. I wanted to find out whether I could take the analytical skills I had developed through my degree and apply them somewhere completely unfamiliar.

The placement was originally planned for six weeks and was later extended to eight. By that point, there were pieces of work I wanted to see through properly, and I was enjoying the opportunity to keep contributing to the team.

What were you originally hired to do?

I joined BCL to support the Bright Green Homes scheme, mainly by helping the team identify and reach households that might be eligible for funded home energy improvements.

The starting point was a very broad housing dataset covering property type, tenure, Energy Performance Certificate ratings and location. The difficult part was not finding possible directions in the data. It was narrowing them down to a few ideas that might actually be useful. I developed a method for identifying concentrations of potentially eligible homes and comparing them with streets where residents had already received retrofit improvements. From this, I produced maps, a ranked list of areas and recommendations that the team could use to focus its outreach.

I also designed Bright Green Homes flyers and contributed to a Meta advert. The materials changed substantially, including the layout, colour scheme, messaging and call to action. The aim was to make the next step as clear as possible while recognising that residents may naturally have questions about eligibility, disruption and how a fully funded offer works.

BCL’s Customer Operations Manager managed this work and kept bringing me back to the resident experience. Her questions made me think beyond whether a flyer was accurate or visually tidy and ask whether somebody seeing the programme for the first time would feel reassured enough to respond. That changed how I approached both the analysis and the communications.

What other projects did you work on?

My role became broader quite quickly. Much of the internship involved getting oriented, asking questions and then trying to produce something that another person could genuinely use.

I worked with BCL’s Social Value Coordinator on a social value proposal linked to a local hospital. I looked at the green spaces already available around the buildings and explored how clean air and opportunities for exercise could support the proposal. This was one of the places where my Biomedical Science background connected directly with the work, because it encouraged me to think about the environment from the perspective of patients, visitors and staff.

Before the internship, “social value” was a phrase I only partly understood. Working on the proposal made it more concrete. I began to see that an environmental project can be judged not only by what it installs or saves, but also by whether it makes a place healthier, more accessible or more useful to the people around it.

I also supported early-stage work exploring solar PV and battery storage for blocks of flats and other complex housing types. I helped draft an initial project document and analysed housing data on walk-up blocks to identify areas that might justify further investigation. I found this stage of project development interesting because the answer was rarely obvious. The work was about reducing a large field of possibilities into a more credible starting point, while recognising that technical, financial and delivery questions would still need to be worked through.

For the local Electric Vehicle Infrastructure, I combined GIS mapping, data analysis and research to support the identification of priority areas for public charging infrastructure.

Elsewhere, I built Power BI and Smartsheet dashboards, updated Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund materials, worked on resident communications and supported internal digital tools. The variety was one of the strengths of the internship. I could be working through an Excel dataset one day and trying to make sense of a new mapping or dashboard tool the next.

Most of the software I used, including GIS, Power BI, Smartsheet and Power Apps, was new to me. Learning through live work helped me understand why outputs need to be practical and useful, not just technically complete. By the end of the placement, I was less worried by the feeling of not knowing where to start. I had become more confident that I could ask the right questions, learn what I needed and improve the work as I went.

What did you learn about Bristol City Leap?

Before the internship, I associated decarbonisation mainly with technology and funding. I left with a more complicated picture. Technology matters, but so do trust, communication, project development and the practical details of delivery.

Bright Green Homes was the clearest example. I initially assumed that fully funded improvements would naturally attract overwhelming interest. In practice, residents may still be uncertain about whether they are eligible, what the work will involve and whether the offer can be trusted. That showed me that a worthwhile programme does not communicate itself. The route from first hearing about it to deciding to participate has to feel clear and manageable.

I also learnt that projects contributing to the same decarbonisation goal can require very different ways of thinking. Targeting a household grant, developing an idea for apartment blocks and planning public charging infrastructure involve different people, data and constraints. There is no single formula that can simply be applied to every project.

The most useful lesson was that analysis only matters when it connects to a real decision. A map can look polished, and a dashboard can contain the right figures, but neither is useful unless someone understands what to do with it. That is something I will carry back into my degree and future work.

What was the working environment like?

The team was supportive from the beginning, but what I appreciated most was that support did not mean being given every answer. I was trusted to try things for myself, make changes and return with something that could be discussed and improved.

BCL’s Social Value Coordinator was my main point of contact and gave me the confidence to explore work beyond my original brief while remaining someone I could approach when I needed direction. BCL’s Customer Operations Manager taught me to view the Bright Green Homes scheme through the resident journey and to think seriously about clarity and trust. One of BCL’s Project Manager encouraged me to look beyond the immediate task and connect individual pieces of work with the wider purpose of a project. BCL’s Senior Communications Coordinator sharpened my attention to branding and detail, particularly the difference between information being technically correct and being effective for its intended audience.

One of my favourite examples of the team culture was delivering Bright Green Homes flyers door to door with BCL’s Social Value Coordinator. It was not something she needed to do herself, but she was willing to get involved. As the placement progressed, moments like that made me feel less like an intern observing from the edge and more like part of the work.

What advice would you give another student?

Do not think of yourself as “just the intern”, but do not feel that you need to prove yourself by pretending to know everything either. Ask questions, learn who can help with different problems and be willing to show unfinished work early enough for feedback to improve it.

I would also ask what a piece of work will be used for, not only how to complete it. Understanding the person or decision at the other end of a spreadsheet, map or flyer makes it much easier to produce something useful. Being unfamiliar with an industry does not mean your perspective has no value, but it does mean you need to listen carefully and stay open to having your assumptions corrected.

Any final thoughts?

I arrived at Bristol City Leap expecting to analyse housing data for one programme. Eight weeks later, I had contributed to work across retrofit, renewable energy, electric vehicle infrastructure, social value and digital tools. I did not leave as an expert in all of those areas, and that is not really what the internship was about.

The internship did not give me a definite answer about what I want to do after university. It gave me something more realistic and, for now, more useful: confidence that I can enter an unfamiliar industry, admit what I do not know, learn quickly and still contribute something worthwhile.

The post My Internship at Bristol City Leap appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

Recorded at Futurebuild 2026, this panel discussion explores the progress made so far, the role of retrofit in the region’s transition to net zero, and the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead for Bristol and the wider South West.

Chair:
Cllr Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, Bristol City Council

Speakers:
Hannah Spungin, Director, Bristol City Leap
Craig Madders, Managing Director, Value Optimised Retrofit (VOR)
Matt Jones, Project Coordinator (Energy), Bristol City Council

The post Retrofit in Bristol and the West: Panel Discussion | 13 May 2026 appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

The latest round of funding will support a diverse range of organisations across the city to progress projects that reduce energy use, improve building efficiency and support Bristol’s transition to a cleaner, greener future.

Successful applicants in this round include the Wellspring Settlement, Siri Guru Singh Sabha Gurdwara Bristol, Watershed Arts and New Stockwood Community Association.

The projects supported through this round include:

• Conducting thermal imaging to identify remaining heat loss, assess previous upgrades and inform the next steps towards a sustainable heating system and wider decarbonisation plan.
• Commissioning a heating engineer, following a Centre for Sustainable Energy community building audit, to assess heat pump suitability and explore options for solar battery storage to maximise existing solar generation.
• Engaging a congregation on reducing energy use in line with Sikh environmental values, while assessing the roof’s suitability for insulation, solar panels and battery storage.
• Developing a long-term plan to transform Watershed into a climate-resilient, low-carbon venue through retrofit and decarbonisation measures, including heat pumps, mechanical ventilation with heat recovery, and fabric upgrades. The project aims to reduce emissions by 87 tonnes and progress towards detailed designs, planning and a robust business case.
• Surveying key building elements, including windows, doors, walls and heating systems, to identify opportunities for improved energy efficiency and comfort, alongside assessing the roof for solar installation.
• Installing a 700kW solar PV system on an industrial unit roof at Lodge Causeway, with potential for battery storage and a local energy supply model.

The Community Energy Fund was established through contributions of £750,000 each from Ameresco and Vattenfall Heat UK. It plays an important role in supporting community organisations across Bristol to deliver local energy projects, reduce fossil fuel use, improve energy efficiency and explore opportunities to connect to the Bristol heat network.

Sixth Round of Funding Now Open

Following the conclusion of the fifth funding round, Bristol City Leap is pleased to confirm that the sixth round of the Community Energy Fund is now officially open.

Community groups, charities, faith organisations and other eligible organisations across Bristol are encouraged to apply for support to help progress their decarbonisation plans.

Applicants can apply for grants and zero-interest loans to support a wide range of community-led energy projects, from early-stage feasibility work through to more developed schemes that are ready to move towards delivery.

Organisations will have until 23 September 2026 to submit their applications. The decision panel will meet the following month, giving applicants time to develop strong proposals that align with the fund’s aims of reducing carbon emissions, supporting local communities and enabling practical energy improvements across the city.

Greater Flexibility for Zero-Interest Loans

As part of the sixth round, Bristol City Leap has also introduced an important update to the zero-interest loan element of the fund.

Previously, organisations applying for loans of up to £50,000 could only use up to 20% of the loan amount for capital costs. In a move designed to accelerate project delivery, successful applicants can now apply for up to £100,000 and use the full loan amount to cover capital costs, providing greater flexibility to bring projects forward.

This means organisations can use loan funding to support more practical, on-the-ground improvements, such as installing low-carbon technologies, improving building fabric, or delivering other measures that directly support decarbonisation.

By making the loan element more flexible, the fund can better support organisations that have already identified what needs to be done and are looking for the financial support to help turn those plans into action.

Microgrants of up to £1,000 also remain available for organisations at the very beginning of their project journey. These are not restricted to specific funding rounds and can be applied for and approved at any time. Our grants and microgrants are ideal for supporting project development, while our loans can support delivery during the implementation phase.

For more information about the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund, including eligibility criteria and details on how to apply, please visit: https://www.bristolcityleap.co.uk/community/community-energy-fund/

About the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund

The £1.5 million Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund supports and enables community-led energy projects across Bristol through a combination of grants, microgrants and zero-interest loans

The fund was established through contributions of £750,000 each from Ameresco and Vattenfall Heat UK and is designed to support the development and delivery of local energy initiatives that help reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency and support Bristol’s wider decarbonisation ambitions.

The post Sixth Round of Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund Opens Following Further Funding Awards appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

The event marked an important milestone in the collaboration between Bristol City Leap and We The Curious, which aims to make Bristol’s low-carbon energy future more accessible, engaging and inspiring for visitors of all ages.

Guests were welcomed by Hannah Spungin, Director of Bristol City Leap, Jon Sankey, Head of Business Development at Vattenfall Heat UK, and Chris Dunford, Sustainability Director at We The Curious, who spoke about the importance of bringing sustainability education to life through hands-on experiences that connect people with the city’s decarbonisation journey.

Among those attending were Cllr Tony Dyer, Leader of Bristol City Council, Cllr Abi Finch, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, and representatives from organisations including Bristol Climate & Nature Partnership, SevernNet, Bristol Temple Quarter, Bristol BID, the NHS, Women in Property, Airbus, The Bristol Dockyard, Materials In Mind and Real Growth.

Following the introductions, attendees had the opportunity to experience the exhibit for themselves, and it’s safe to say it was a hit!

Bringing Bristol’s Energy Future to Life

The new exhibit has been designed to raise awareness of Bristol’s growing low-carbon energy infrastructure through a playful, inclusive and sensory experience.

Visitors can post coloured ‘scarves’ into the exhibit’s inlets, adjust airflow using valves, and watch as their scarves travel through a maze of tubes representing Bristol’s energy networks before emerging overhead. Along the way, they encounter recognisable Bristol landmarks, helping connect the experience directly to the city around them.

The exhibit celebrates the extensive network of pipes and cables that are helping deliver renewable electricity and low-carbon heat across Bristol, while demonstrating how innovative infrastructure can help create a more sustainable future.

By transforming a complex topic into a fun and social experience, the installation helps visitors better understand the role that low-carbon energy systems play in everyday life and the positive changes already taking place across the city.

A Hit with Visitors

Even before its official launch celebration, the exhibit had already become a favourite with visitors to We The Curious.

In fact, staff have had to place a bench facing the installation after parents, grandparents and guardians had asked for somewhere to sit while their children continued playing with the exhibit.

The anecdote perfectly captures the ambition behind the project: to create an experience that isn’t just educational, but genuinely enjoyable, encouraging curiosity, exploration and conversation about Bristol’s sustainable future.

Demonstrating the Power of Partnership

The exhibit is the result of a close collaboration between Bristol City Leap and We The Curious, combining expertise in sustainability, education and visitor engagement.

Bristol City Leap is helping to accelerate Bristol’s journey to net zero by delivering large-scale investment in low-carbon energy infrastructure through its partnership between Bristol City Council, Ameresco UK and Vattenfall Heat UK.

Meanwhile, We The Curious continues to inspire curiosity and learning through experiences that help people engage with science and the world around them.

Together, we have created an exhibit that not only highlights the innovative work taking place beneath Bristol’s streets, but also encourages visitors to imagine the role they can play in creating a greener future.

As the newest addition to We The Curious’ North Gallery, the exhibit is expected to engage hundreds of thousands of visitors over the coming years, helping build awareness, understanding and confidence in Bristol’s transition to a low-carbon city.

The launch event was a celebration not only of a new exhibit, but of what can be achieved when organisations come together with a shared commitment to sustainability, education and community engagement.

The post Bristol City Leap and We The Curious Celebrate Launch of New Interactive Sustainability Exhibit appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

This award recognises the strength of our partnership and the impact of the Easiform Project in Bristol, a project that is helping to demonstrate how effective retrofit delivery can improve the energy performance of homes, reduce carbon emissions, and support residents to live in warmer, healthier and more affordable-to-run homes.

Winning this award is a fantastic acknowledgement of what can be achieved through strong collaboration, shared expertise and a collective commitment to delivering meaningful change.

Recognising the power of partnership

The Easiform Project reflects the value of partnership working in tackling one of the biggest challenges facing communities today: how to improve homes in a way that supports people, reduces emissions and creates lasting benefits for the city.

By working closely together, Bristol City Leap and VOR have been able to combine knowledge, skills and practical delivery experience to help ensure retrofit works are both effective and resident-focused. The project has shown how collaboration can turn ambition into action, delivering improvements that make a real difference to people’s day-to-day lives while supporting wider decarbonisation goals.

Creating better homes and lower carbon communities

Retrofit has a critical role to play in the transition to a low-carbon future. Projects like Easiform show that, when delivered well, retrofit can bring multiple benefits at once: helping households stay warmer, improving health and comfort, lowering energy use, and reducing the cost of running a home.

At the same time, these improvements contribute to the wider effort to cut emissions and build a more sustainable future for Bristol.

This recognition from the Unlock Net Zero Awards is therefore not only a celebration of a successful project, but also of the importance of continuing to invest in collaborative, practical approaches to decarbonising homes at scale.

A huge thank you to everyone involved

This achievement would not have been possible without the dedication, expertise and commitment of colleagues across both Bristol City Leap and Value Optimised Retrofit.

Awards like this reflect the hard work of the teams behind the scenes who are committed to delivering high-quality projects and creating positive outcomes for residents. We would like to thank everyone involved in making the Easiform Project such a success.

We would also like to thank the team behind the Unlock Net Zero Awards for this recognition.

As Bristol City Leap continues to work with partners across the city, this award is a welcome reminder of what can be achieved when organisations come together with a shared purpose: to deliver meaningful change at scale and help build a cleaner, fairer energy future for Bristol.

The post Bristol City Leap and Value Optimised Retrofit win Collaboration of the Year at Unlock Net Zero Awards 2026 appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

The exhibit aims to inspire understanding and confidence in Bristol’s transition to a low-carbon future by engaging visitors through a fun, inclusive, sensory and social experience.

It is designed to celebrate innovation and show how an extensive network of pipes and cables beneath the city is efficiently delivering renewable electricity and heat throughout Bristol. Visitors of all ages will be able to post coloured ‘scarves’ into the inlets, change the air direction using the valves, and watch their scarf travel through a maze of tubes through the ‘city’, before it flies out over their heads.

The exhibit is Bristol-specific, with several recognisable Bristol landmarks depicted on the network of interconnected pipes and valves.

Through creating a playful, fun and communal experience, the exhibit aims to show the positive change already happening to make Bristol’s energy networks more sustainable.

Bristol City Leap is an innovative partnership between Bristol City Council, Ameresco UK and Vattenfall Heat UK, which will accelerate green energy investment in Bristol and help towards decarbonising the whole city.

This flagship exhibit marks the start of new development within the North Gallery space at We The Curious, which will see further sustainability-related exhibits and experiences added over the next few years. It also connects with We The Curious’ pledge around creating a more sustainable future and their own journey to decarbonise by 2030.

Andy Cocco, Head of Exhibitions at We The Curious, said: “This new exhibit is a great way to really explore sustainability, and specifically, decarbonisation in Bristol, in a fun and engaging way. It brings to life the amazing work that’s already taking place in the city, but also showcasing how people can work together and have power as a collective to create a better world. The scientific knowledge and solutions are there – it’s up to us to make them happen. We’re delighted to be working with Bristol City Leap on this fun, interactive exhibit, which showcases the new technology shaping our future for the better.”

Hannah Spungin, Director at Bristol City Leap, said: “We’re proud to support We The Curious in creating an engaging new exhibit that brings Bristol’s energy future to life. Through our role in the Bristol City Leap partnership, we are committed not only to delivering low-carbon infrastructure but also to helping people understand how these systems work and why they matter. This exhibit provides a unique opportunity to connect with hundreds of thousands of visitors each year, spark curiosity, and empower communities to be part of Bristol’s decarbonisation journey. By making complex energy systems accessible and interactive, we can inspire greater awareness, confidence and participation in the transition to a more sustainable city.”

Dom Barton, Director of Heat Networks – Bristol at Vattenfall Heat UK, said: “Vattenfall’s vision is that over half of all Bristolians living, working and learning in the city will be kept warm by the Bristol heat network by 2050. The work to install the heat network is ongoing, and once complete will deliver low carbon heating across the city for decades to come. This crucial underground network of pipes is already delivering low carbon heating to 36 buildings, enough to heat the equivalent of almost 13,400 homes. We’re pleased to support We The Curious in raising awareness of the city’s decarbonisation journey with the workforce of the future in such a fun and engaging way.”

The exhibit is being designed and built by the in-house Exhibitions Team at We The Curious and will be launched in time for Bristol school summer holidays in July 2026.

The post We The Curious and Bristol City Leap partner for new interactive exhibit appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

This is a major step forward in the development of longer-term plans to serve low carbon heat as widely as possible in Bristol.

The Bristol heat network is being delivered as part of Bristol City Leap, a twenty-year partnership between Bristol City Council, Ameresco and Vattenfall, to support the city’s transition to a low carbon future.

The funding will support the construction of the Temple Quarter heat network, bringing together the existing Temple, Old Market and Redcliffe heat networks into one integrated system. Once connected, the combined network will make full use of the existing low carbon water source heat pump at Castle Park and will be designed to enable a future connection to the approved Bath Road Energy Centre, supporting long-term expansion across the city.

There are currently 35 buildings connected to the Bristol heat network, supplying enough heat for the equivalent of almost 13,500 homes. Further growth is already underway, with up to four new connections planned within the next year.

The project also includes the development of a semi-permanent energy centre, an air source heat pump system designed as a flexible, “plug‑in” solution. This solution will initially provide heating to the University of Bristol’s Temple Quarter Enterprise Centre Academic Building, which is already connected to the heat network.

Once the Bath Road Energy Centre becomes operational, the semi-permanent energy centre can be relocated and reused elsewhere in the city, offering a practical and adaptable way to deliver low carbon heat where it is most needed.

Beyond delivering cleaner heat, Bristol City Leap is expected to generate significant social and economic benefits for the city. It has been estimated that the partnership will deliver a minimum of £61.5 million in social value over the next five years, including more than 1,000 new jobs, apprenticeships and work placements, as well as a new £1.5 million Community Energy Fund. To date, the partnership is on track to meet this ambition, with a total spend of £36 million so far.

Dom Barton, Director of Heat Networks, Bristol at Vattenfall Heat UK, said: “Vattenfall’s vision is that over half of all Bristolians living, working and learning in the city will be kept warm by the Bristol heat network by 2050. We’re pleased to be awarded this funding as a welcome step closer to connecting the current heat networks in Bristol and expanding them to serve low carbon heat as widely as possible in the city. This is critical infrastructure that will provide reliable, low carbon heating and hot water to local homes and businesses.”

If you would like to learn more about the Bristol heat network, click here.

The post £13.5mn government funding unlocks next phase of Bristol heat network appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

That’s why Bristol City Leap recently partnered with boomsatsuma, a Bristol-based education provider for the creative industries, to support 29 student filmmakers to produce six short films spotlighting organisations funded through the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund.

The result? A powerful set of case-study films that tell real stories of community-led climate action, and a meaningful professional experience that helped emerging creatives build confidence, develop industry skills, and learn what it means to deliver work for a real client.

This collaboration is a great example of how Bristol City Leap is working to support people’s career ambitions as part of our wider social value commitments: investing in local talent, creating pathways into good green jobs, and using our platform to amplify the organisations shaping Bristol’s low-carbon future.

A partnership built on shared values

Bristol City Leap is committed to delivering clean, affordable energy at scale, but we’re equally focused on ensuring the benefits are felt locally. That means supporting communities, strengthening local organisations, and helping Bristol residents access opportunities.

Working with boomsatsuma was an ideal fit. The partnership combined: 

• Real community impact: showcasing the positive outcomes of the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund 

• Real professional development: giving students a live brief and a client-facing production experience 

• Real storytelling: capturing Bristol’s climate transition through the people making it happen 

Students were commissioned to create films that explore why each organisation applied for funding and the difference the funding has made, whether that’s planning low-carbon upgrades for historic buildings, improving energy efficiency in community hubs, or building confidence and skills through inclusive workshops. 

What students gained: a live brief, a real client, and practical experience 

Each group worked with a funded organisation as their subject, researching, developing a concept, planning and filming on location, and delivering an edit that met the needs of a professional client. 

For students, this type of opportunity is invaluable. It brings classroom learning into the real world, helping them practice and develop: 

• Client communication and creative collaboration 

• Production planning and time management 

• Interviewing and documentary storytelling 

• Filming on location and working with contributors 

• Editing to a brief and delivering to a deadline 

Just as importantly, it gave students something many early-career creatives need: a portfolio piece with real-world credibility and the experience of working on a project with a clear purpose and public value. 

“This project has been a brilliant example of what happens when education and industry come together with a shared purpose,” said Head of Post Production, Mark Adams. “Students were able to work professionally, creatively and collaboratively while telling stories that really matter.”

The films

The students created six community stories powered by the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund. Each film offered a window into Bristol’s community energy movement, from heritage sites and cultural venues to local farms, pools and scout huts. Together, they demonstrated the breadth of the Fund and the range of organisations leading change.

58th Scout Group

The 58th Scout Group is based in one of Bristol’s most deprived areas. Their Scout Hut is more than a building; it’s a vital space where young people learn skills for life, supported by dedicated volunteers.

The Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund’s support is enabling a comprehensive feasibility study into solar energy, heating solutions, and retrofitting options for the Hut. The film shines a light on the power of local spaces and the value of enabling sustainability in places where it can have a lasting ripple effect through young people and communities.

This film was created by:
Hannah Lange – Production Manager and Editor
Fred Johnson – Camera Operator
Tolly Haydon-Turner – External
Leon Bush – Sound Operator

Friends of Jubilee Pool

Jubilee Pool has served Bristol for generations as a place of health, joy and connection. But energy costs are rising, and the pool’s ageing gas boilers are becoming a risk, with only three of four currently operational.

With funding, the Trustees are exploring the potential for Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHP) through an ASHP and mechanical feasibility design report, as part of a wider heat decarbonisation plan. This film tells a story many community facilities will recognise: the hard reality of outdated infrastructure and the determined, practical steps communities are taking to secure a cleaner, more resilient future.

This film was created by:
Holly Bielby – Production Manager/shoot coordinator
Archie Day – 1st AD/Boom Mic Operator
Ethan Gordon-Nippress – Director
Aisha Benamar – DOP/Camera Operator
Ella Carroll – Editor

One Green Kitchen

One Green Kitchen C.I.C. is a grassroots organisation using food as a tool for sustainability, wellbeing and empowerment, creating inclusive, welcoming spaces where communities can learn and share.

Bristol City Leap’s funding supported One Green Kitchen to deliver five workshops in St Paul’s and Fishponds, in collaboration with the Bangladeshi community, focusing on New Energy Projects, Home Energy Improvements, and Solar Panels & Alternative Energy Solutions. The programme also includes selecting ten women for a home improvement initiative, offering practical skills and tailored energy discussions.

Now that those sessions have been completed, this film highlights how climate action can be community-led, culturally relevant, and rooted in everyday life, and how women from underrepresented backgrounds are helping shape a fairer energy future.

This film was created by:
Kieran Cashell – Director/Editor
Oscar Ball – Producer/Editor
Mae Agnew – Director of Photography
Evie Brunton – Editor
Charlie Bell – Boom Operator

SS Great Britain Trust 

The SS Great Britain Trust cares for one of the UK’s most iconic ships and a much-loved Bristol heritage destination. Managing energy in historic sites can be complex, especially where systems must balance conservation, visitor experience, and operational needs. 

With the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund’s support, the Trust is collaborating with external experts to analyse data from its building management system, building a clearer understanding of heat and energy flows across the site. This analysis will support optimisation of the existing gas-fired heating system and ensure any future replacement is correctly sized and tailored. The film captures this thoughtful approach: blending heritage stewardship with modern energy expertise to make informed, future-ready decisions. 

This film was created by:
Nichole Sims – Project Manager
Jess Sherwood – Director
Lorenzo Thomas – Editor/Sound
Oskar Leighton – Sound
Sky Shaw – Camera Operator

St Paul’s Church

St Paul’s Church is a spectacular Georgian building, often described as a “wedding cake” church, now home to Circomedia, a school for contemporary circus and physical theatre. It’s a place where creativity thrives beneath historic plasterwork, stained glass and towering stone columns. But it’s also a building with a challenge: reliance on two outdated gas boilers, with any upgrade requiring careful consideration due to its protected status.

With support from the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund, the organisation is beginning an important next chapter, including a thermographic survey, an appraisal for refurbishing or replacing the heating system, and project management time to help move the project forward. This film explores what it takes to bring clean energy into historic spaces and how climate action can protect the past while powering the future.

This film was created by:
Issy Dennis – Director
Madison Eden-Barrett – Producer
Poppy Dunning – Editor
Noah Gallagher – Camera Operator
Nhean Wheeler – Sound Recordist

St Werburghs City Farm

For over four decades, St Werburghs City Farm has been a cherished urban space where people, animals and nature connect. But indoors, the farm’s office, café and community buildings face real comfort and efficiency challenges, from single-glazed windows to poor insulation and outdated heating.

With support from the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund, the Farm is launching a major retrofit programme: replacing the office with a zero/low carbon structure and deep retrofitting the café and community building. To progress with RIBA planning, they’ll undertake ten feasibility studies/surveys and run two community retrofit and energy sessions to ensure local voices help shape the project. The film captures a familiar Bristol story: values-led community infrastructure evolving to meet the climate challenge head-on.

This film was created by:
Ami Sampson – Project Manager, Colour Grader
Sam Weeks – Director, Cinematographer
Lucien Midgley – Interviewer, Editor
Javien White – Producer, Sound
Liam Taylor – Editor 

Why this matters: social value in action 

This partnership brought Bristol City Leap’s social value commitments to life clearly and practically: 

• Supporting career ambitions by giving emerging creatives real experience, real responsibility, and a real-world portfolio outcome 

• Keeping investment local by working with a Bristol-based education provider and Bristol community organisations 

• Amplifying community-led climate action by showcasing how the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund supports organisations with ambition and need 

• Connecting skills and sustainability by demonstrating that Bristol’s transition to low carbon is also about skills, opportunity and inclusion 

Put simply: these films don’t just promote projects; they build capability, confidence and momentum across the city. 

The six films will be shared across Bristol City Leap channels as a series of case studies for the Community Energy Fund. Each one is a reminder that Bristol’s energy transition is already happening in churches, kitchens, heritage sites, scout huts, pools and farms led by people who care deeply about their communities. 

Bristol City Leap want to extend its heartfelt gratitude to boomsatsuma, particularly to the students, who have truly exceeded expectations. Their work not only showcased exceptional quality but also demonstrated remarkable professionalism, along with an impressive ability to tackle challenges and provide innovative solutions. Thank you for your outstanding contributions! 

To find out more about the Bristol City Leap Community Energy Fund, click here: https://www.bristolcityleap.co.uk/community/community-energy-fund/ 

Learn more about boomsatsuma, click here: https://www.boomsatsuma.com/ 

The post Bristol City Leap x boomsatsuma: Powering Community Stories and Creative Careers appeared first on Bristol City Leap.

The sites benefiting from this project and receiving new solar installs are Avonmouth Church of England School and Nursery, Kingsweston School, Whitehall Primary School, Stockwood Children’s Centre, and the M Shed.

This project is estimated to save ~171.51 tonnes of CO2 over its lifetime, which is equivalent to the annual carbon absorption of all the trees in Bristol’s Brandon Hill park.

This programme has been made possible through grant funding from the West of England Mayoral Combined Authority’s Mayoral Renewables Fund, matched with investment from Bristol City Council’s Revolving Energy Efficiency Fund (REEF).

Alexandra Coleman, Senior Vice President at Ameresco UK, said: “This programme reflects Bristol City Leap’s drive to scale up practical, clean energy solutions across the city. By equipping key community buildings with solar installations, we’re enabling schools, cultural venues and children’s services to cut carbon emissions measurably, while also securing long‑term reductions in their energy costs.”

Councillor Martin Fodor, Chair of the Environment and Sustainability Committee, said: “Helping our schools and community spaces transition to renewable energy is central to Bristol’s vision for a greener and more resilient city. This funding allows public buildings to operate with greater sustainability, easing financial pressures and reducing emissions so that future generations can benefit from cleaner, healthier neighbourhoods.”

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “I’m delighted that we’re supporting more environmental projects in the West of England, using the Mayoral Renewables Fund to empower local communities with cleaner energy. Solar upgrades for schools, children’s centres, nurseries, and M Shed will not only help bring down their electricity bills but also reduce pollution.”

This solar programme marks a significant step forward in Bristol’s ongoing work to upgrade its public estate, support community wellbeing, and accelerate progress toward decarbonisation.

Work is expected to begin in early April, with completion anticipated in summer 2026.

The post Bristol City Leap to Install Solar Panels Across Key Public and Community Buildings appeared first on Bristol City Leap.