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.

To become one of the first Green Deal Advisors (domestic and non-domestic), energy assessors or home inspectors will need to train for a new qualification, available in July.

Asset Skills want to hear from qualified energy assessors and home inspectors in England, Wales and Scotland who would like to train for the role.

Training will start in July and take between three and five months. Delivery models will vary and some will include distance learning. Funding is available but a contribution from the learner will also be required.*

If you are interested in training as a Green Deal Advisor please register your interest on the Asset skills website or email  greendeal@assetskills.org

Asset Skills will need confirmation that you are an energy assessor or home inspector, as well as your contact and location details.

*Full cost not yet known but will be confirmed after learning providers are appointed.

Background

Asset Skills has received £1 million to ensure that there are at least 1,000 qualified Green Deal Advisors gearing up ready for the launch of Green Deal.

This is part of a £3.5 million fund secured to raise awareness of the training needed to be sure advisors and installers are fully accredited to secure work under the new Green Deal.

Tender briefing workshop

If your organisation is likely to be involved in training new Green Deal Advisors and you are interested in applying for support funding, you could benefit from a ‘tender briefing workshop’ Asset Skills is holding on 8 May 2012 in central London  (venue to be confirmed).

You might find the workshop useful if you are

• a training company,
• FE college,
• potential Green Deal provider,
• local authority or regional body linked to the Green Deal Advisor training.

The workshop will help you bid for funding to deliver the new training and offer the qualifications, which become available in July.

A ‘tender specification document’ will be published on the Asset Skills website on 4 May to download before the workshop.

This will show how to apply to offer the training and give more details about the three delivery models involved:

Model 1 – aimed at training providers
Model 2 – aimed at Green Deal providers
Model 3 – aimed at regional Green Deal initiatives
Asset Skills can help address any queries you may have about the document at the event on 8 May.

Places are limited so please register your interest on the Asset Skills website or email greendeal@assetskills.org

A second phase of the Renewable Heat Premium Payment (RHPP) scheme, which gives money off renewable technologies like biomass boilers, air and ground source heat pumps and solar thermal panels, will be launched on 2nd April this year and will be worth £10m more than the existing scheme.

Find out more here: http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_029/pn12_029.aspx

High level (external) surveying of property types across our area – this will involve external surveys of properties across the Upper Eden parishes.  This work is to be delivered by a third party supplier and every attempt will be made to notify residents of this surveying work before it commences.  Not all properties will be surveyed as we are using a sampling technique to build a picture of the area.

In depth surveying of 3 of each property types as identified in the high level surveys – This work will be more in depth and will require access to the home by a third party supplier to conduct the survey and make recommendations of measures that will improve the thermal qualities of that property type.   These properties will be chosen from an existing list of property owners who have already engaged with the project via our Thermal Imaging work we delivered in November 2011.  Where possible we plan to distribute this surveying work evenly across the Upper Eden Parishes.

Road Show of events -  highlighting ways in which property owner can improve their household insulation and also introducing the governments ‘Green Deal’ which is expected to be available to property owners from October 2012. We expect to be running a total of 5 events across the area over the weeks commencing the 12^th & 19^th March.  These events will be scattered across Upper Eden and advertised via the local media, internet marketing and door to door flyers.  Watch this space!

Development of a community owned renewable energy project – This will be focusing on the further development of the Wharton Wind energy project.  This project has already begun to gather data for a possible wind turbine in the parish; the Local Energy Assessment Fund will produce a business plan for that project and prepare the project for delivery.

Similar to the Feed In Tariffs for electricity generation, the RHI is a long term incentive for heat generation.

There is also support of around £15 million for households through the Renewable Heat Premium Payment, is an upfront payment to help with installation of schemes.

For more information visit the Department for Energy and Climate Change webpages

http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/meeting_energy/renewable_ener/incentive/incentive.aspx

Click the resources tab for more info.

Organised by the Penrith-based charity Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), the festival brings together a programme of around 60 free events across the county that raise awareness of the opportunities to create a more sustainable future.  The events provide a unique opportunity to visit sites which are which are not normally accessible to the public, from improvements in private homes to large scale energy generation.

Appealing to a wide variety of Cumbrian residents, from home owners, farmers, businesses and those involved in community buildings, the on-site events will demonstrate installations of air source and ground source heat pumps, photovoltaic solar systems, biomass heating systems, and reed beds for waste water treatment.  There will be site visits to see complete refurbishments of off-grid farmhouses, renewable energy installations in village halls, factory tours of hydro turbine manufacturers, tours of ecohomes and carbon neutral buildings and trips to those hard to heat, traditional stone built homes.

Georgina Byles, of CAfS commented “We are all aware of ever-increasing fuel costs and one of aims of the festival is to show people the alternatives.  For instance, heating can be provided by log burning or pellet burning boilers or by air source or ground source heat pumps, not just oil and gas. The festival is not just for those trying to save the planet! By adopting renewable energy resources we can save money, even make money, and future-proof your house or building.”

“There are a wealth of resources within the green build industry right here on our doorstep in Cumbria, that I’m sure most of us are unaware of! From inspirational architects, innovative builders, and renewable energy providers, right through to the householders who have completed their projects and have offered to host an event at their own home.”

The festival runs until 25^th September. The full programme for the festival can be found via a dedicated website at www.cumbriagreenbuild.org.uk. All events are free of charge but spaces are limited so must be booked via the website.