Transforming Bolton Retail Park Into A Green Skills Centre
After ambitious plans to transform a Bolton retail park into a green skills centre were announced, Housing Industry Leaders highlights what this means for providing individuals and businesses with the skills for the future.
The Trinity Retail Park will soon become Greenworks, a community-focused green technology, skills and business hub. As Bolton’s first low carbon business park, the area will become a flagship environmental centre of excellence for Greater Manchester.
Determined to ensure the business park makes significant changes for Bolton, works could begin as early as summer 2022. Phase one is expected to be completed in partnership with Bolton charity Urban Outreach by winter 2023.
Investing in people and places is the key to success
A Bolton green skills centre will provide essential training on green technology for retrofit to businesses across the Greater Manchester region. For companies vying for low carbon contracts, this will contribute to their overall energy efficiency and improve their chances of being awarded them.
Greater Manchester has ambitious plans to be net zero by 2038; the Bolton facility proves that ambition is being met with serious solutions. Placing Greater Manchester and the North on the map for environmental excellence may bring economic benefits from the central government in terms of projects and innovation funds.
Phase one of planning focuses on the infrastructure of the classrooms, working spaces and the design of the building, with the second phase submitted by Bolton Council will consider further sustainability options, including solar panels, wind turbines, rainwater harvesting, and electric vehicle charging sites. It will also provide solutions to help the local community.
Green technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels and rainwater harvesting are all available. However, there is a significant skills gap in the number of people and businesses locally who can fit, maintain and repair them
Sustainability will be at the forefront of the actual building and the innovation that will come from it. For example, the Greenworks building will feature a living wall of plants to improve biodiversity and air quality.
Fixing the skill gap is the number one priority for Bolton
Noel Sharpe, deputy group chief executive officer at Bolton at Home and Chair of the Bolton Vision Partnership’s Economic Prosperity Group, made the following comments: “Retrofitting houses is one of the major challenges we face if Bolton is to become carbon neutral.”
Continuing, he said: “Green technologies such as heat pumps, solar panels and rainwater harvesting are all available. However, there is a significant skills gap in the number of people and businesses locally who can fit, maintain and repair them.”
“Once open, businesses across Bolton and the North West will be able to benefit from the opportunities on-site, from upskilling their staff in low carbon technologies, through to meeting like-minded companies and using the learning space on offer.”
