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General: big pot of money up for grabs! - what would you apply for?!

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  1.  
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeNov 8th 2008
     
    A mining company has recently opened a new open-cast coalmine next to our community.

    they are obliged to spend 25p per tonne extracted on community improvement etc. This will equate to approximately £500,000 over four years or so.

    We do not make up the whole community, so do not have access to the whole pot, but we can apply for project funding.

    We have a committee set up, and are meeting soon to discuss options and wishlists. Renewable and sustainable are two prominent words so far, and it would be great to get this type of project funded by a fossil fuel extractor!

    we are not an overtly green community per se, but there are like-minded people on the committee.

    we are a farm steading of 8 dwellings, and a nearby community of 60 or so permanent static caravans, or 'park homes' i think they call them. There is 250 acres of private woodland and a castle, and a couple of small businesses in the mix.
    everyone is on LPG - no mains gas

    so, what would you go for??

    here's a list of ideas i've already thrown in the air..(pre-research!)

    lots of calls for windmills - i have said no - not enough wind, and location poor.
    community reed-beds (lots of little septic tanks at present)
    community CHP
    community solar array (there is a field available) with giant accumulator tank (how would you use the energy? district heating system?
    community coppiceing scheme if the woodland landowner plays ball
    shared transport scheme
    carbon neutral community hall
    central shared community garden - self sufficiency.


    this is early days, but we want in on the ground floor

    all ideas gratefully received
    • CommentAuthorSaint
    • CommentTimeNov 8th 2008
     
    You might want to contact these people who are a little way ahead of you on a similar project in Bovey Tracey http://www.boveyclimateaction.org.uk/
    They've had support from Ove Arup, Dartmoor National Park, the Eden Project and many others. Lots of good ideas and some pretty powerful lobbying expertise

    Also, get those park homes insulated. There's a high percentage of people in fuel poverty living in this type of accommodation, some of which is 30 years old and so has virtually zero insulation. There are some very good solutions now and moves are afoot to obtain grants for these types of dwellings. They are currently not eligible under many schemes like Warm Front and CERT.
    • CommentAuthorRachel
    • CommentTimeNov 8th 2008
     
    straw bale community hall. Built by the community...:wink:
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeNov 10th 2008
     
    rachel - that was my first thought.
    apparently, in the years before i lived here, there was a community hall of sorts, but it fell in to disrepair due to under-use, and no-one keen to maintain it.
    this might be the impetus to get everyone together - who knows!
    the community has the use of an adjacent scout hall, which might be the problem.


    thanks, Saint. I'll look into it.

    I have no idea how well insulated the 'vans are. But this is a key concern.
    I think that the 60 or so vans would swallow up our budget, and leave nothing for t he wider community. However, a scheme that required the 'house'holder to upgrade themselves to a certain level to participate may work.
    • CommentAuthorCWatters
    • CommentTimeNov 10th 2008
     
    You said windmills (plural) so did you only consider several small ones?
    Would it have to be onsite? Perhaps you could build one a few hundred miles away? On another site owned by the mining company perhaps.
    The advantage would be an ongoing income stream or free electricity perhaps.
    • CommentAuthorStuartB
    • CommentTimeNov 10th 2008
     
    I would go for some kind of CHP scheme to try and future proof your future energy needs. Could provide the capital costs of the set up!

    Doc - was in your neck of the woods last week due to the M90 being shut and I saw that stupid little wind/solar road sign near where you live. What that all about? Being sited in the trees it would be luck to see any sun or wind at all. Crazy.

    Also, why is Crossgates Fife's first energy efficient village? What have they done to achieve that particular acolade?
    • CommentAuthorMatt
    • CommentTimeNov 10th 2008
     
    Lots of super duper insulation - lofts, floors, walls (cavity, internal, external, I don't care), lots of double glazing, draft proofing etc.

    Ask an energy company to 'match fund' (to meet their Climate Change / Carbon / offsetting figures) instead of supplying insulation to B&Q et al
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeNov 10th 2008 edited
     
    i have never had an answer about Crossgates 'energy efficient' badge. i think it was a 'cart before horse' scheme to stimulate energy efficiency, but i am not convinced it has had a great effect. i dont know the community there too well.

    As for insulation, i am not keen on seeing the community fund going toward insulating essentially a transient home on rented land.

    money towards a central scheme (CHP etc) that would benefit the community as a whole sits better with me. A personal commitment to upgrade can be included with the scheme, for access to the power / heat.

    no - i considered one big turbine (but not 100's of miles away) this is my preferred solution regarding wind, but i dont think the mining company own land in perpetuity.

    yes - it is a daft little windmill Stuart!
  9.  
    I'm surprised that particular piece of kit is still in situ - I rather got the impression that one or more people might have nefarious plans for your road sign. Certainly if I was sitting in a mobile home in Scotland in November I might consider wombling it for a while.
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2008 edited
     
    first meeting tonight
    we'll see what everyone wants - discount nothing on day one.

    however,

    i am verging on boycotting the grant money be used for increasing insulation.
    this penalises those in the community that have already done it, and is perhaps not the best solution - in perpetuity, when the majority of the homes are 'temporary'

    sharing of renewable energy created by a community scheme also throws up a mine-field.

    I have had some costing advice on CHP, and a scheme big enough is not going to come in anywhere near the cash we can get, let alone ongoing maintenance and the work required to all the homes to accept the district heating.

    i have a list of 30-odd 'ideas' that i am sure i will see tonight, and i have a bit of a 'dream-dasher' response to most, unfortunately.
    i want to see a scheme work, be sustainable, and still be there 10 years from now.
    the community is not specifically a eco-community, although there seems to be a desire in this direction.

    so, my shortlist is now:

    carbon neutral community hall
    community coppice scheme
    community garden / poly-tunnels
    community 'car club' sharing programme
    reed beds to replace 'as-hoc' septic tank system

    looking forward to tonight's first foray into 'community council land!'
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2008 edited
     
    .
    • CommentAuthormark_s
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2008
     
    Large scale gshp? I think that they do community sized systems in scandinavia - could provide heating/hot water?
    • CommentAuthorTheDoctor
    • CommentTimeDec 1st 2008
     
    Mark,

    i thought so too, but actually using the resultant heat / hot water, rationing it through 60+ caravans that all need internal modifications to use the resultant hot water sounded like it might be a stretch too far.

    How do you meter hot water off a district loop?

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