£3 BILLION that is to be invested in green initiatives that will make homes and public buildings more energy efficient has been met with mixed feelings in Cumbria.

The announcement is set to be made in the summer statement later today but early details have revealed that this money will be put towards initiatives aimed at decarbonising public buildings and tackling poor insulation in homes.

It has been received with mixed responses.

Mark Jenkinson, MP for Workington, said: "Any investment in Cumbria into green initiatives, into making our homes more energy efficient it's all incredibly welcome.

"There is another side to that in that it safeguards and creates jobs."

Schools, hospitals, military bases, prisons, and houses are set to benefit from this money which will improve energy efficiency in old buildings and social housing will be retrofitted to make them greener.

"While homeowners have taken a lot upon themselves in recent years to make their homes more energy efficient, there are some real sticking points for our older towns," said Mr Jenkinson.

"Stone build houses, conservation areas, where the energy efficiency improvements are much more expensive.

"Hopefully, it might address some of these longer term issues."

While it is recognised that investing in a green future is a step in the right direction, for environmental campaigners, this is not nearly enough money to be spending in comparison to other countries in Europe.

Dr Helen Davison, a councillor in Carlisle City Council, said: "It's the first step in the right direction but at this point when we have both an economic crisis looming as well as the climate emergency that we are already in - it just seems nowhere near enough."

"Particularly when we compare it with the spend in Germany which is £36bn and France is £13.5bn already committed."

As the government looks to restart the economy, campaigners had hoped to see more spent on moving towards a green economy.

Dr Davison said: "This is the time in our history that we could and should be massively investing in a new green economy to create jobs, to insulate homes, to really improve our public transport so they work for everyone, to improve our walking and cycling infrastructure, and really invest in renewable energy technology as well.

"This is a very small start to it."