A PROGRAMME which has offered support to more than 300 businesses across all of Dorset could have its life extended.

Low Carbon Dorset was expected to be wound up in March but is now likely to receive additional European funding to keep it going until 2023.

Dorset councillors are being asked to back the move by offering to meet some of the team overheads, such as office accommodation, at an ‘equivalent’ cost of £66,000.

Funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Low Carbon Dorset was launched in April 2018 and was expected to run until March 2021, but has managed to keep going.

The programme provides support to Dorset based business, community and public sector organisations to identify and deliver energy efficiency and renewable energy projects to reduce their carbon footprint.

The support is provided in the form of free technical advice to help identify opportunities and a grant fund offering 40% of the costs of  eligible projects.

So far more than 350 organisations have been supported to deliver over 85 low carbon schemes across Dorset, Bournemouth and Poole, estimated to be worth £5.4 million and saving 267,713 kWhr/yr energy in public buildings and a reduction of 3,824 tonnes of carbon emission per year.

Dorset Council successfully applied for an additional £5.86m of ERDF funding in July 2019 which is currently pending a contract.

The money will, effectively, be doubled to £11.72m mainly from direct match funding of 50per cent from those who are selected for a grant.

Councillors are being told at a Cabinet meeting on September 8 that demand for projects is high with £500,000 of proposals already in preparation and a number of projects awaiting approval which could total £6m for the next 6-12 months.

The report says the programme will help meet climate change commitments, reducing the county’s carbon footprint by at least 7,204 tonnes of carbon per year by June 2023.