Just wondered if anyone here has had any experience of using Salix Finance to help fund any traffic signal schemes or traffic signal aspects of larger highway schemes?
I would be very interested to hear from anyone who has - type of scheme, whether the process is easy/difficult to go through etc etc.
No, but when the Blue corner came round to see us my Authority was up there on a list so it might be something you need to check corporately as it may be the case that someone has already been looking into this.
I've just taken a loan from Salix for the retrofit of LED aspects. It seemed a simple process but it was handled totally by our Green Team so all I had to do was provide the information about costs and savings - they evaluated it, confirmed it met the criteria and told me what the repayments were.
Just 2 comments relating to my experience. Salix will only "provide funding for proven technologies which are cost effective in saving CO2" and you have to tender the job so you know the exact costings before they will verify that you can have the funding.
It is supposedly a very simple process, and there are consultants who'll come along and help you fill in the forms.
However there is a discrepancy about payback. Personally, I couldn't make the maths work, but that was assuming modest rises in energy bills, and not factoring in penalties for missing the "energy saving" targets that LAs will face in a few years or modest savings on maintenance with the reduction in bulk lamp changes (and the associated environmental impact of chucking out thousands of lamps every year).
In Plymouth we looked at it but it was not pursued. I gather Devon's LED replacement scheme was funded by a different method.
Our street lighting team have been looking in to Salix funding and we just could not get the payback period to within the acceptable parameters unfortunately.
If anyone out there knows of any other funding streams, other than PFI or Prudential Borrowing, please please please would you be so kind as to let us know?