Sustainable Danbury wins share of National Lottery grant to support community energy
11 October 2024
Thanks to National Lottery players, Sustainable Danbury will receive a share of a £1.5m grant that has been awarded to Community Energy South from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK, to deliver its Community Energy People project over three years.
As a community energy co-operative Sustainable Danbury aims to bring people together to deliver community-owned safe, clean renewable energy, and advise on how to use less and help to make it affordable for all.
The Community Energy People project will accelerate the growth of the sector and enable eleven community energy groups across 11 counties to employ people for the first time, recruit more volunteers and deliver more projects, and faster. The new workforce will represent a diverse range of communities, and open doors to a much broader audience who will benefit from the services provided.
Community Energy South will provide training and mentoring to those groups, as well as governance, HR, and marketing support.
Sustainable Danbury is one of the first five community energy groups to receive funding, joining other groups from Lancashire, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire in the project.
As part of this project Sustainable Danbury is looking to hire someone into a 3 days per week part time paid position as well as further roles for 1 day per week. These positions could suit someone not currently employed and looking to get back into work, a young person studying or someone retired looking for a community based part time position.
The roles will require some technical skills but training will also be provided. If you are interested or know someone who might be interested in getting involved in community energy or the Energy Transition more generally then please get in touch via our website contact form. More details will be published shortly.
ABOUT US
We are a new community group formed to help Danbury become sustainable for current and future generations.
We are now registered as a community benefit society.
Aims of Sustainable Danbury
To provide a local source of information and inspiration to live more sustainably covering:
Improving the energy efficiency our homes through improved insulation and low carbon heating.
Promote re-use and recycling including improved repair.
Encourage sustainable lifestyle choices such as food and travel.
Promote wildlife conservation and enhancement across the village and also in our own gardens.
Promote local food production
We aim to run educational events and provide consolidated information via a website and regular news updates via social media.
Community Energy
The group is looking at potential local renewable energy projects such as solar panels on local schools and other buildings as well as other energy storage options. These would be funded via a Community Share offer as we are now registered as a Community Benefit Society (a type of Co-op) funded and controlled by local people with profits invested back into the community.
The Challenge
In May 2020 the UK parliament declared a climate emergency, the UK government has signed up to the Paris agreement and has set a legally binding target for the UK to be carbon neutral by 2050 and then further committed in April this year to be three-quarters of the way there by 2035. Both Essex County Council and Chelmsford City Council have also declared a climate emergency.
What can we do in Danbury to play our part in achieving these objectives?
The Carbon footprint of Danbury is nearly twice the national average when measured on a per household basis so we have a longer journey than most to make. To help the village and its residents make the transition to a sustainable future a group of local residents have formed a new organisation called ‘Sustainable Danbury’. The group is made up of volunteers who have skills and know-how to help us all make this transition.
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