A NEW energy centre was unveiled at the John Radcliffe Hospital to mark the completion of the £14.8m heat pipe project.

The new engine, boilers and heat pipe link between the Churchill and John Radcliffe saved Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust £231,000 in its first month.

The project replaced old boilers in both hospitals with a ‘Combined Heat and Power’ engine, new boilers, heat stations and a heat pipe linking the two.

An energy centre created at the John Radcliffe was opened today by Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds.

The new infrastructure will cut the trust’s carbon dioxide output by 10,000 tonnes per year and it has already saved nearly a quarter of a million pounds.

The Trust’s chief executive, Dr Bruno Holthof, said: “It marks the culmination of two and half years’ work on site to remove our 30-year-old boilers at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals and replace them with the infrastructure we need today and for the future.

“It is exceptionally good news that we are already seeing significant savings on our energy bills.”

Work began on the scheme inside the John Radcliffe grounds in November 2015 but controversy hit when it moved to the streets of Headington.

Contractors Vital Energi began digging up All Saints Road prematurely in January 2016 and Oxfordshire County Council told them to lay the road again until they had planning permission.

Its application was declared invalid by Oxford City Council before it was given the go-ahead in September 2016. t the John Radcliffe was opened yesterday by Oxford East MP Anneliese Dodds.

The new infrastructure will cut the Trust's carbon dioxide output by 10,000 tonnes per year and it has already saved £231,000 in the first month.

The Trust's chief executive, Dr Bruno Holthof, said: "It marks the culmination of two and half years' work on site to remove our 30-year-old boilers at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals and replace them with the infrastructure we need today and for the future.

"It is exceptionally good news that we are already seeing significant savings on our energy bills."

Work began on the scheme inside the John Radcliffe grounds in November 2015 but controversy hit when it moved to the streets of Headington.

Contractors Vital Energi began digging up All Saints Road prematurely in January 2016 and Oxfordshire County Council told them to relay the road until they had planning permission.

Its application was declared invalid by Oxford City Council before it was given the go-ahead in September 2016.