Property

Historic Alexandra Palace has emerged from lockdown – greener than ever

The 140-year-old venue – home to music, theatre, dance, sports events – adopted a decarbonisation plan during COVID-19 which will reduce its CO2 output by 134 tonnes a year. 

Thanks to more than £493,000 worth of funding from Salix Finance, the palace will also reduce its annual energy bill by £74,361. 

The grant, funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, was used to install LED lighting in the West Hall, as well as smart technology lighting controls. 

The 678 new fixtures replaced 739 obsolete fluorescent fittings, including discrete compact fluorescent, spotlights and high-level discharge fixtures. 

Originally opened in 1873, the iconic London landmark burnt down 16 days after opening.  

It was rebuilt with its original stained-glass windows, tall ceilings and grand features preserved. In 1935, it was chosen as the site for the first London Television Station signal.   

The palace also recently hosted the inaugural Earthshot Prize, designed to incentivise the change needed to help repair the planet. 

Emma Dagnes, Chief Executive at Alexandra Palace, said: “Responding to the climate crisis will take a global effort, and at Ally Pally we are determined to play our part. 

“We’ve already made some important steps forward to reduce our environmental impact. This includes repairing and restoring large parts of the historic Palace in ways that will improve our energy efficiency and sustainability. 

“We are a heritage building and therefore we have to work so much harder to become sustainable for the future.  

“The lighting system is burning a lot of energy and that’s why we looked at Salix Finance to be able to access funds to upgrade the systems and bring them into this century. It’s been such a collaborative approach between Salix Finance and Alexandra Palace.  

“It’s not an easy building and quite a complex place to work but they managed to understand how it works and were fantastic in this journey with us.” 

Oliver Smith, programme co-ordinator at Salix Finance, added: “Our goal is to contribute to saving carbon in the public sector. It’s important for us to take buildings like this that have such a cultural importance and have been such a main state of the past into the future. 

Joe Mellor

Head of Content

Published by