Green Bank ‘faces delay’
10 September 2012
Plans to give the Green Investment Bank borrowing powers in 2015 could be delayed, a new report has warned.
The Association for Consultancy and Engineering (ACE) has pointed out that the provision of the powers are dependent on public borrowing falling as a percentage of GDP, which may now not be met until some time after 2015.The Green Bank is due to come into being next year, but will simply operate as a grant-funding body until it is given the power to raise its own money through borrowing.
“With the UK in recession again, and with the deficit not falling as fast as government hoped, the Green Investment Bank is unlikely to gain much needed borrowing powers until much later than originally planned,” said ACE chief executive Nelson Ogunshakin.
“This is disappointing for industry. Investment is needed to drive growth and raise the standards and sustainability of the UK’s infrastructure and the Green Investment Bank’s borrowing powers had the potential to leverage significant private investment.”
Last week, a waste processing plant in Dagenham received funding from the UK Waste Resources and Energy Investments fund, the forerunner to the Green Investment Bank.
