Deal facts

  • Client
    Brighton & Hove City Council
  • Sector
    Clean Energy, Retrofit
  • Service
    Advisory
  • Duration
    October 2024 to January 2025
Hove Town Hall

Identifying priorities and developing a framework

In 2024 BHCC commissioned a Decarbonisation Pathways Report which analysed different scenarios across multiple sectors, including heating, fabric improvement, renewable generation and transport, identifying 110 priority areas that would require around £3.5bn of investment.

The council sought support from the National Wealth Fund’s Local Advisory function to develop these priority areas into a pipeline of investible net zero projects.

We developed a framework to support BHCC with the categorisation, prioritisation and sequencing of projects, and gave guidance on balancing short and medium-term tactical delivery with longer term strategic planning. We considered:

  • technology/supply chain readiness
  • alignment with the council’s overarching strategies such as emission reductions
  • the council and their stakeholders’ respective risk appetites
  • available resource allocation
  • the council’s level of influence and expertise.

BHCC now has a summary of actions it can consider taking forward across its net zero portfolio.

A word on the deal

Stuart Leslie, NWF Director in Local Authority Advisory and Lending, said: 

Through our targeted advisory support, NWF was delighted to help Brighton & Hove City Council prioritise their net zero pipeline into investible opportunities, demonstrating how local ambition, strategic planning, and capital mobilisation have the potential to unlock transformative project delivery.

"We know from our Decarbonisation Pathways Study that new business models and financing options are needed to unlock the energy transition at a local level. The consultancy with the National Wealth Fund accelerated our thinking by at least 6 months, helping us to develop an investible pipeline of capital projects across a diversified project portfolio, as we move towards procuring a private sector partnership for delivery of our net zero aims. Brighton & Hove now stands ready to partner with bold, forward-thinking investors to deliver not just a net zero city—but a new benchmark for sustainable urban development in the UK.”

Councillor Tim Rowkins

Brighton & Hove’s Deputy Leader and Cabinet member for Net Zero

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