Low-carbon project to bring jobs boost and eco-friendly heating to entire town by 2050

A new heat network will power every building in Worthing by 2050 in a bid to decarbonise the town's buildings, bring in around 500 new jobs and save money on heating costs - and work begins this summer.

Worthing Borough Council identified the Worthing Heat Network in its Carbon Neutral Plan as the cheapest and most efficient way to decarbonise the town’s buildings, and has brought in developer Hemiko to fund, deliver and operate the network.

Construction is scheduled to start in July this year, with the first buildings expected to be connected by summer 2025, including Worthing Town Hall, Worthing Hospital, the Assembly Hall, Portland House, Worthing Museum & Art Gallery, and the Connaught Theatre. The heat network will then expand from there.

Cllr Sophie Cox, Worthing’s Cabinet Member for Climate Emergency, said: “The Worthing Heat Network is an exciting development in our transition to low carbon heating and an important milestone in our mission to be a carbon neutral council by 2030 and a net zero borough by 2045. I’m really looking forward to the council working alongside Hemiko on the next stages of the project and bringing low carbon heating to the residents and business of Worthing.”

Heat networks work by collecting local unused heat, turning it into hot water and distributing that hot water to local users via a network of underground pipes. This will enable connected buildings to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels for heating and hot water, reducing their heating emissions by around 90%.

At the initial Worthing Heat Network Energy Centre will be a heat pump system, collecting heat from the air. Over time, the network will bring on more and more sources of locally available, wasted heat.

The first phase of the network will connect mostly large public sector buildings, and this phase alone is expected to save over 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions each year. That's the equivalent of taking 2,000 cars off the road. It will also create around 40 local jobs. By 2050, Hemiko expect the network to have created up to 500 jobs.

Worthing Heat Network received over £7m of funding from the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero’s Heat Networks Investment Project. This unlocked £40m of investment from Hemiko, and they plan to invest in the region of £500m by 2050 as the network expands.

Toby Heysham, CEO at Hemiko, said: “We’re incredibly proud to have been selected as Worthing Borough Council’s partner for the Worthing Heat Network. It will be an invaluable piece of infrastructure for the local community, not only because it will cut the town’s emissions significantly and improve public health, but it will also offer jobs, apprenticeships, and a hub for innovation and investment into the town.”