Agenda item

An interactive presentation on ‘Is your community ready for the Wiltshire Energy Challenge?’  Which will cover the achievements in reducing our energy demands and related carbon emissions, that we have made as a Council across the whole of Wiltshire as well as to highlight the local initiatives relevant to the community area.

Information on the next steps for the team, as it develops Wiltshire Council’s Energy Resilience Plan.

Officer: a member of the Green Economy Team

Ariane Crampton, Head of Service - Account Management and her team had been asked by Cabinet to give a presentation to every Area Board about how the Council is tackling the energy challenge, and highlight the activity in each community area.

In September 2014, Wiltshire Council signed up to the Local Government Association’s Climate Local initiative, which replaced the Nottingham Declaration on climate change. Wiltshire Council had been taking action on climate change since 2009 and continued to drive down carbon emissions across the county.

The Climate Local initiative was a way for us to communicate and recognise these achievements.

By signing up to Climate Local, councils across the country are capturing the opportunities and benefits of action on a changing climate, through:

·       leading by example,

·       saving on their energy bills,

·       generating income from renewable energy,

·       attracting new jobs and investment,

·       reducing flood risks and

·       managing the impacts of extreme weather. 

There were 48 electrical charging points in Wiltshire, with 11 points local to Salisbury. There were:

2x Urban Energy, Philips Lane N of Salisbury

3x Renault Dealership, Churchfields Industrial estate (restricted access)

2x Nissan Dealership, Churchfields Industrial estate

1x Best Western Red Lion Hotel, Milford Street

3x Brown Street

Ariane ran a short interactive quiz where people were able to vote on climate based trivia questions using handsets.

Local Schemes

Five Rivers Leisure Centre Facility Improvements:

·       Pool hall lighting – done in 2013:

·       saves £4400 and 24 tonnes carbon a year

·       Variable speed drives – done in 2011, saves £7600 and 51 tonnes carbon a year

·       Saved to date £34,000 and 228 tonnes carbon

Five Rivers Leisure Centre Combined Heat & Power – done in 2010:

• Saves £42,000 and 174 tonnes carbon a year

Car parks lighting upgrades – done in 2011/12:

Estimated savings to date total £60,000 and 90 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

City Hall lighting Upgrade

Auditorium lighting – done in 2010, saves £4,700 and 32 tonnes a year

General lighting upgrade – done in 2014, saves £10,200 and 29 tonnes a year

Local Groups/Work

There were a number of active groups within Salisbury which were brought together under the umbrella of South Wiltshire Agenda 21. This was a group of individuals and organisations which worked together to promote change within the Salisbury local community. The aim of the group is to ‘Turn Agenda 21 into Action 21’.

A number of initiatives, groups and activities were captured through their work including:

Monthly Green Cafe meetings: An informal group for anyone interested in exchanging ideas on environmental issues and contributing towards developing a greener future in Salisbury.

Further events, such as Green Energy Day, talks on Passive Haus build and other activities can be found on the events page.

Green Doors Weekend: In 2014, Wilton Community Land Trust organised their second event, which provided opportunities for people to visit low energy homes in Salisbury and learn about reducing energy consumption. Visit www.wiltshiregreendoors.org.uk for further details.

 “Carbon Conversations” provided reliable and useful information in small supportive groups for people who are concerned about climate change to help them examine ways in which they might reduce their carbon footprint. 

Cycling Opportunities Group Salisbury (COGS): The cycling group campaigns to improve all kinds of facilities for cyclists in the area, from cycle paths to cycle parking and keeps cycling safety at the forefront of local issues and developments.

South Wiltshire Agenda 21 also participated in the EU funded energy awareness raising and education project Sustainable Energy Across the Common Space (SEACS) delivered by Wiltshire Council in 2012-14. The project brought together a number of community groups and schools across the county educating householders and groups on tackling the energy challenge and educating people on changes they can make to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels.

South Wiltshire Agenda 21 participated in the countywide workshops, and actively promoted energy efficiency, reduction and potential for clean energy generation within Salisbury, and has a number of resources from the project to further engage people on the steps they can take to reduce their carbon emissions.