Eden in Running to Benefit from £1m Big Lottery Fund - 2nd May 2012

A Penrith based charity has been awarded £10,000 from the Big Lottery’s Communities Living Sustainably fund as a first step to develop a bid to potentially gain £1m for the Eden area.

The Communities Living Sustainably Fund seeks to support communities to both adapt to and alleviate the effects of climate change.  The Eden Living Sustainably project, if successful, will concentrate on the rural nature of the district and sparse distribution of the local population.

The Eden bid, led by local charity Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), beat off nearly 300 applications across England & Wales to become one of 30 communities in with a chance of being awarded £1million.

Caroline Turner, Development Officer at CAfS said “Climate change affects us all, in particular in this area we have seen an increase in the frequency and intensity of extremes in weather, for instance intense rainfall, and who can forget the winters of 2009/10 and 2010/11?  In periods of flooding, sustained snowfall or high winds, many of our residents experience isolation and local businesses struggle to provide continuity to their customers.”

CAfS Trustee, Peter Ward added “We are really keen to build on existing activity and infrastructure to truly make Eden sustainable and resilient to climate change.

This is a project that will encompass the whole of our community.  If we win the £1m, we could use it to deliver a variety of projects, for instance create renewable energy schemes, help people with energy efficiency and draught-busting to reduce their bills and increase their comfort, or improve access to rural services to reduce isolation. We are already in partnership with community groups, local businesses, Eden District Council, and indeed the local press, but we would love to hear from people who are already working on similar projects, those who have an idea for a project, or any other interested parties.”

The completed project bid will be submitted mid-June 2012, with the winning applications being announced in August.  If successful, the Eden Living Sustainability project will start in September 2012, and run for three years, to September 2015.

Those interested in getting involved with the development of the project can email office@cafs.org.uk or call 01768 210 276.