< Back Shropshire Council's plans for the North West Relief Road (NWRR) continue Fiona Morgan 1 Mar 2023 End the de facto ban on on-shore wind Shropshire Council has submitted 100 new planning documents for the NWRR to try and allay some of the concerns raised by statutory consultees such as the Environment Agency and Natural England in response to the first planning application (2021). However, according to Better Shrewsbury Transport, the revisions do not address any of the fundamental issues with the road which includes the destruction of wildlife habitat including ancient trees and vital hedgerows and the production of at least 50,000 tonnes of carbon. Moreover the revisions have increased the total area of land affected by the road by 40%. Shropshire Council is planning to spend at least £87 million, plus an unlimited overspend on constructing the NWRR. This is despite a recent Shropshire Council budget consultation asking for views on how to make £50 million in savings. A new round of public consultation is open if you wish to comment on the revised NWRR plans: you can email planning.northern@shropshire.gov.uk using the planning application reference no. 21/00924/EIA in the Subject and make sure you include your name and address or comment via the Shropshire Council Planning portal or use the online form found on the Road To Ruin Shropshire website ​ The deadline for comments is 11 March 2023. However, Better Shrewsbury Transport hope that emails will be taken into account until the planning officers submit their report in May 2023. For more information about the history of the road and campaign please see the Better Shrewsbury Transport website. Meanwhile in Wales.... The Welsh Government following the review of their National Transport Plan has made the decision to scrap all major road building projects in Wales and ensure all future roads must pass a strict criteria including that they must not increase carbon emissions. Read the full article by Teleri Glyn Jones in the BBC online (published 14/2/23) here . Previous Next

< Back SSCA's first Retrofit Services Consultation Event, Craven Arms Mike Bourke 20 Jun 2023 Bringing groups from the Marches together to discuss retrofit and next steps for the region The Energy and Buildings Group of South Shropshire Climate Action organized a Consultation on Tuesday 20th June at the Shropshire Hills Discovery Centre in Craven Arms. The purpose was to improve co-operation between the different groups offering retrofit services across the Marches, and those attending represented Shropshire Council, Herefordshire Green Network, Marches Energy Agency, Lightfoot, Telford Climate Action, Sustainable Bridgnorth, Stretton Climate Care and environmental groups in Broseley, Clun and Market Drayton. Two of those attending are also elected members of Powys and Herefordshire Councils. The day consisted of three workshops: 1. A Directory of Retrofit Providers and Specialists . People who want to retrofit their homes need to know of contractors with the relevant skills and qualifications. At present, some organisations have their own lists based on local knowledge, though all have, of course, to emphasize that they cannot recommend these firms or accept liability for any work carried out. It was agreed that a Marches-wide list should be produced, prefaced by a list of questions which customers should ask before any contractor is employed. A small group will take this forward over the coming weeks. 2. Grants and Funding . Tony Baker of MEA described the current Government funding schemes available to householders (Boiler Upgrade Scheme, Great British Insulation Scheme and the Home Upgrade Grant - the latter being restricted to households on means-tested benefits or with an annual income of less than £31,000). We also discussed a proposed Lottery Fund application for a scheme to insulate individual rooms within houses. 3. Household Energy Surveys . These can take two forms of different levels of complexity, depending on whether the aim is to measure the household’s existing carbon footprint or to prepare the house for a retrofit programme. Presentations were made by Stretton Climate Care, Lightfoot and MEA. Rob Narraway gave a demonstration of a Thermal Imaging Camera, and the use of the Retrofit Roadshow Van was described. The cost of the various schemes was discussed, and training will be offered to newly formed community groups. It was generally agreed to have been a useful day in co-ordinating the efforts of the various agencies across our region. Previous Next

< Back Having a Household Energy Survey (HES) with Lightfoot Enterprises Jane Cullen 1 Feb 2023 A customer's experience If you want to reduce your carbon footprint and save money by improving the energy efficiency of your home, an easy first step is to arrange with Lightfoot Enterprises to have a Household Energy Survey. To give you a clear idea of the process and where it might lead let’s hear from Laura and Oliver about their experience: We asked them: what were you expecting from the survey? ‘We wanted to know how to make our home more energy efficient, for both environmental and financial reasons. We hoped to gain an understanding of where we could make simple but effective changes, and any areas which might require a larger investment’. Next, we found out what having the survey was actually like ‘It was a straightforward and simple process. We enjoyed having the survey, as it was a very friendly process and we were guided through everything. The surveyor was totally non judgemental, we felt we could give honest answers and not make ourselves out to be better in terms of energy usage than we actually are! We also learnt some useful tips even before we received the full report. Overall it was a very positive experience’. We wanted to know what has actually happened as a result of the survey It turns out that Laura and Oliver have done quite a lot, for example: ‘Put draught excluding tape/sealant around our front door. This was super cheap and easy to use, we simply bought it from a local hardware and stuck it on’. 'Then we found an electrician (at the surveyor’s recommendation) to find and install a more user-friendly thermostat to replace the old, cumbersome one, to help us control our heating.' Next up ‘we're also looking into making some reflective panels to go behind our radiators to reflect the heat back into the room. A friend of ours has done this, and we have found a weekend to get together with her and make our own!’ There were other recommendations ranging from getting the boiler serviced, to installing solar panels, and it's up to us to decide whether we want to progress with these.' 'It was great to have a range of suggestions, from easy, quick wins to more long term options’. Lastly, we asked would you recommend having a Household Energy Survey (HES)? ‘It was a no brainer for us to get this survey done - there was nothing to lose and everything to gain. We would highly recommend it’. What do you need to do next to get a HES? An easy first step is to arrange for a Household Energy Survey with Lightfoot Enterprises by emailing: jeremy@lightfootenterprises.org A small charge is made of £35. The survey answers are sent to a professional energy assessor who will produce a bespoke report for your home, with on-going advice and recommendations Previous Next

< Back Shropshire's Green Libraries Week Fiona Morgan 6 Oct 2023 SSCA's information stand at Ludlow Library SSCA volunteer Robin Grimmett managed our stand at Ludlow library on the 6th October. We showcased information from groups across Shropshire on how people can take action to reduce their carbon emissions and support Nature including: our Retrofit Toolkit produced in partnership with Stretton Climate Care our Walk Through Ludlow’s Green Spaces leaflet produced with Shropshire Wildlife Trust Ludlow branch Zero Carbon Shropshire’s leaflets providing tips on the climate action people can take Save Our Shropshire’s carbon literacy workshops Marches Energy Agency leaflets on energy efficient homes and Restoring Shropshire’s Verges Project on how to turn roadside verges into wildlife friendly meadows. We will have a permanent display of leaflets at Ludlow Library and hope to develop similar links with other libraries across the county so that people can gain access to useful information on how they can take climate action. Previous Next

< Back SSCA’s response to the government’s decision to roll back on the UK climate commitments Jane Cullen 23 Sept 2023 Our letter to Philip Dunne MP On the 23rd September we wrote to Philip Dunne MP, to make the following points: 2023 is the hottest year ever recorded; We in the UK lack climate leadership at all levels, especially government; The Office for Budget Responsibility has recently highlighted the economic benefits of speedy action on net zero and the financial risks associated with any delay; If we continue to use fossil fuels for our cars and heating this will drive up costs; Children experience profound anxiety as they try to grow up amidst all these pressures; Lack of action on the climate emergency creates more hardship and disintegration of communities while damage to the environment and nature accumulates; Milestones on the way to 2030 are missed that makes a net zero transition so much more difficult, so much less likely. Surely Prime Minister Sunak can see the climate emergency cannot be used in the ordinary way to score political points? Please write to Philip Dunne yourself (the Rosebank oilfield and the closing of the Energy Efficiency Unit both happened last month too). His email address is: philip.dunne.mp@parliament.uk Philip Dunne’s own letter to Prime Minister Sunak on behalf of the Environmental Audit Committee can be read here . [Photo credit: The chart is by Ed Hawkins, University of Reading using Met data and depicts Shropshire's increasing annual temperature change since 1884]. Previous Next

< Back New guide on Shropshire's Green Spaces to promote wellbeing Fiona Morgan and Shropshire Wildlife Trust 3 Aug 2023 Featuring SSCA's Walk Through Bridgnorth's Green Spaces New guides showcasing local green spaces have been created to encourage people to spend more time outdoors experiencing natural environments to the benefit of their physical and mental health. 9 locations have been chosen across Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin. Each location has a free downloadable route, instructions on how to get there, accessibility information, and details of what you can see and do. This is one of the outcomes from a two-year Green Social Prescribing project, run by a partnership between Energize STW (the active partnership for Shropshire, Telford and Wrekin) and Shropshire Wildlife Trust, with support from both local authorities in our County. The 9 guides are available to view on the Shropshire Wildlife Trust website at www.shropshirewildlifetrust.org.uk/local-greenspaces Our South Shropshire Climate Action Walk Through Bridgnorth's Green Spaces leaflet that we produced in partnership with Bridgnorth Library and Sustainable Bridgnorth features as one of the 9 walks. Sharon Smith, Green Social Prescribing Officer at Energize STW and Shropshire Wildlife Trust said: “ Our research has shown both social prescribers and the public were needing more information about local green spaces which are free to access and enjoy. Our focus was around what we coined the 3 Ls – low cost, low level, and local. ” Previous Next

< Back SSCA's first Swap event at the Next Generation Fair, Craven Arms Fiona Morgan 20 May 2023 Reusing and sharing reduces carbon emissions, saves waste and helps us to help each other On Saturday 20th May we attended the Next Generation Fair at the Community Centre in Craven Arms . Along with having information on our stand about SSCA and other organisations in our network we held our first Swap event to encourage people to reuse children’s toys, books and clothes. We had lots of satisfied customers and will be taking the remaining stock to Ludlow Green Festival on Sunday 9th July for our next Swap event. So if you have any items for all ages (adults and children) to donate or swap including toys, games, books, DVD’s CD’s, household items, clothes etc please bring them along. By reusing and sharing we can help each other through the cost of living crisis and help the planet by reducing carbon emissions and waste. We look forward to seeing you there. Previous Next

< Back SSCA visit to the NMITE exhibition in Herefordshire Mike Bourke 6 Feb 2023 Higher Education gets retrofitting Members of the SSCA Energy and Retrofit Group visited the New Model Institute for Technology and Engineering (NMITE) , a new university located in Hereford which offers a range of engineering degrees and short courses including on the sustainable built environment. They viewed the very energy-efficient building and the retrofit displays of wall insulation (external and internal), floor insulation and windows. Only organic materials were used (no plastic). Previous Next

< Back Celebrating Marches Energy Agency 25th Anniversary Fiona Morgan and Nick Read 14 Oct 2022 SSCA's Project Co-ordinators deliver a talk at MEA's anniversary event In October SSCA’s Project Co-ordinators were invited to speak about South Shropshire Climate Action at Marches Energy Agency's 25th Anniversary celebration. The focus of the talks and discussions among those attending was on how to tackle the cost of living crisis and eradicate fuel poverty and how this aligns with getting to net zero carbon. With contributions from staff at Marches Energy Agency, Citizen's Advice, Wrekin Housing Group, Shropshire Council, Food Poverty Alliance, Zero Carbon Shropshire, Severn Wye, Community Resource, Shropshire Wildlife Trust, Evora Edge. It's by working together that we help to tackle these crises. Previous Next

< Back Government Consultation on National Planning Policy affecting the climate crisis Jane Cullen 28 Feb 2023 Shropshire's climate action groups come together to respond to the consultation and the on-shore wind ban I n February SSCA convened a meeting with Zero Carbon Shropshire and representatives of other climate and environment groups in Shropshire (including Lightfoot Enterprises, CPRE Shropshire, Bishop’s Castle Climate Action Group, Share Energy, Shropshire and Telford Community Energy, Ludlow 21, Stretton Climate Care, Clun Climate and Environment Group) to discuss a response to the Government consultation on the National Planning Policy Framework Consultation , specifically on the topics covered under: Chapter 7 - Protecting the environment and tackling climate change; Chapter 8 - Onshore wind and energy efficiency. The deadline for the consultation is 2nd March. If you would like to see a copy of our response please email: SSCA@mea.org.uk Taking further action on the on-shore wind ban A response to the same Planning Consultation is an Open Letter from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and over 100 leading thinkers on energy and the environment to The Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, and The Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP, Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, calling on them to lift the on-shore wind ban in England – which has the power to address climate change, help the UK meet its net zero targets, and give us all greener, cheaper electricity. We have signed this letter along with other Shropshire climate action groups. The letter can be viewed on the We Are Possible website . You can take action via this link . Previous Next

< Back Watch Channel 4’s “The Great Climate Fight” documentary Mike Watkins 21 Nov 2023 Featuring Bishop's Castle Heat and Wind Project Channel 4’s two-part documentary “The Great Climate Fight” with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Mary Portas and Kevin McCloud argues that Net Zero can be achieved, the only thing preventing this is the government. The programme demonstrates that going green is now cheaper, studies how other countries are doing it, and puts it all to UK Government ministers. You can watch Bishop's Castle Heat and Wind Project feature in Episode 1 at 14 minutes and 20 seconds . Bishop’s Castle’s Climate and Environment group, Lightfoot, have described how “Keo Films spent many days with us, earlier this year, documenting the progress and obstacles we face in getting this wind-powered heat network through the early stage of the planning process, especially as the wind turbine planned to provide most of the power for the Energy Centre (to be near the college and SpArC) is proposed to be just inside the AONB, at the Conery. Full planning application is still a year away but we have been through a lot of hurdles via pre-planning and fund-raising. A 6-month long ecology study of the wind turbine site is currently underway, together with further grant applications and a planned, full Feasibility Study.” Previous Next

< Back SSCA's reflections on COP15: UN Biodiversity Conference Nick Read 10 Jan 2023 ​ Not to be confused with COP 27 on Climate Change which was held in Egypt in November, Montreal has recently hosted COP 15 (or the 15th Conference of the Parties) to the United National Convention on Biological Diversity. The Convention was signed in 1992 and adopted by every member state except the United States, which has signed but never ratified the treaty. COP 15 was due to be hosted by China, who still provided the Chair, but was held in Montreal because of the strict Covid-19 restrictions that China had been operating. The most important outcome of the conference was a commitment to significantly extend the level of protection of ecosystems from the current 17% and 10% of the world’s terrestrial and ocean areas respectively to at least 30% of the world’s land, inland waters, coastal areas and oceans (sometimes referred to as the 30x30 target) by the year 2030. Special attention is to be paid to areas deemed to be important for biodiversity, such as tropical rain forest.There were 23 targets agreed, including: Halving global food waste by 2030 Reducing government subsidies that harm nature by $500 billion a year Reducing to “near zero” the loss of areas of wildlife-rich habitat Minimizing, reducing or mitigating the effects of invasive alien species by at least 50% by 2030 There is a also a commitment to support developing countries financially to help implement some of these measures. Whilst broadly welcomed by environmental campaigners there is still concern that the words will not be matched by actions, but at least the words have been agreed. Previous Next