A Cumbria attraction is set to become the UK's first carbon-zero castle thanks to a £19,500 'Innovating for Success' grant from the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership.

The plan is to turn Muncaster Castle's 800-year-old family home and its 800-hectare estate into a sustainable enterprise.

Ewan Frost-Pennington, the castle's operation director, is leading the green initiative.

A significant part of this strategy is focused on increasing the castle's metabolic efficiency from the current 60 per cent to balance the castle's energy use.

Some of the priority include finding ways to sustainably heat the public spaces within the castle, improve the catering facilities, and provide hot water in the washrooms.

Mr Frost-Pennington credited the castle’s plumber, Kevin Blain, as the reason behind this part of the success of the sustainability project.

Whitehaven News: Castle plumber Kevin Blane has played a key role in helping Muncaster become carbon-zero

“Kevin has been quick to come on board with the new technology. Thanks to his skills, and our learning from a network of experts, our heat pump system warms three quarters of the castle and provides warm water for visitors.

“As well as energy efficiency gains, the historic fabric of the castle is protected and we can now open during the winter.

“Without this funding we would have not had the confidence to take the risks that we have. The results have facilitated a better overall system and team members, who are upskilled, and excited to continue developing other low carbon projects in Cumbria.”

The Cumbria LEP grant delivered the latest phase of the works by providing £19,500 of grant towards the total project cost of £60,180.

The enhancements included the incorporation of batteries to preserve the surplus power generated by solar panels, the purchase of a commercial electric oven, and the utilisation of ground-source heat pumps to heat water.

Jo Lappin, chief executive of the Cumbria LEP, said: "It is great to see what a difference the Innovating for Success grant programme is having at Muncaster Castle in support of their ambitions.

"We launched Innovating for Success to encourage small and medium sized businesses across Cumbria to invest in either innovating or decarbonising their business.

“We are delighted that Ewan and the Muncaster team have been able to deliver cutting edge innovation and decarbonisation in a beautiful, heritage environment.”

The 'Innovating for Success' grant launched in September 2022 has seen dozens of businesses sharing the £1million grant to foster innovation and reduce carbon emissions.

The grant is split into two areas, up to £50,000 to partly fund initiatives that turn new ideas into commercially viable and deliverable propositions, and up to £20,000 for practical projects aiming to reduce energy usage or increase renewable energy production.

An independent economic assessment by the LEP predicts that, over a 10-year period, these grants will facilitate £37million of economic growth, create 97 full-time jobs, and prevent over 4,160 tonnes of CO2 emissions.