Watch how The Hub helped Tunbridge Wells Borough Council develop an innovative solar canopy project from concept to implementation.
“We knew that we wanted to introduce a solar PV project where we could directly plug the power in, as they’re such a good return on investment. This would enable us to reduce bills whilst moving towards our ambitious net zero targets, and decarbonising our assets,” Tunbridge Wells Council’s Property team said, “the problem was that we didn’t know where to start, and what approach would work best, and the Hub provided a golden thread of ‘this might be possible’.”
The Hub worked with the team to explore what might be achievable, encouraging them to consider a car park canopy solution. “Car park canopies are now becoming relatively common, but there aren’t that many projects that have been delivered on top of a multi-storey car park. It was good to explore something new,” says the Hub’s Energy Project Manager Chris Parkin.
The Hub provided the council with a £75,000 grant from its Investment Readiness Service to help cover essential early development work, including planning studies, RIBA Stage 4 detailed design, and project management and quantity surveying support. This early‑stage investment helped the council de‑risk the scheme, get planning consent and reach a positive investment decision for a project with a total capital and development cost of around £1.5m.
Funding from the Hub enabled the council to commission the specialist technical and planning work needed to move towards delivery, without depleting much-needed budgets elsewhere. The support covered key pre‑construction tasks, including planning studies, detailed RIBA design specifications and early project management plans for contractors to follow. “We already had a contractor on board to complete necessary maintenance to future-proof the car park, and so it made sense to scope out if we could include the solar work within this phase of work”, said Tunbridge Wells Council.
In addition to the financial support, the assistance provided assurance to the project decision‑makers and helped them feel confident in approving the investment and backing the project through planning. “It’s so satisfying to really make a difference and move projects forward to the implementation stage,” says Chris Parkin.
The 440kW rooftop solar scheme is expected to generate approximately 408 MWh of clean electricity annually. Over its lifetime, the project should save around 333 tonnes of CO₂, directly supporting the council’s decarbonisation objectives while also reducing energy bills.
The project demonstrates how the right support at the right stage can make the difference between a good idea and a deliverable project. “Inevitably, with any type of project, there’s quite a high attrition rate as they go through development”, says Chris Parkin, “but when you get those that get across the line and get into construction, and you can actually see energy generation and carbon savings being delivered, it’s fantastic.”
Investing early in planning, detailed design, and robust delivery plans helped the council navigate approvals and confidently commit to implementing what was, at the time, a little-tested idea. The project is now in the early implementation stage, following planning consent and a positive investment decision from councillors. The scheme should also provide a useful template for similar projects.
Get in touch with the Greater South East Net Zero hub for support.
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