The community centre is currently reviewing a bid to the East of
England Development Agency, CutYourCarbon(CYC) competition. The aim
of the competition is to encourage everyone to try and reduce the
amount of Carbon Dioxide they emit each day. The Community Centre
will act as a focal point for this activity by looking at
alternative ways to supply energy for the centre and reducing our
demand.
Our initial bid was assessed by the Cutyourcarbon team but did not
receive funding in the first round. The feedback we received was
that our bid needed to show more community commitment to cutting
carbon emissions---------------------so get your friends to
complete their Carbon Footprint and sign up to the Palgrave
Community on
http://www.cutyourcarbon.org.uk/
. If sufficient numbers do this, and commit to actions to reduce
their carbon emissions then we stand a much better chance of being
successful in December.
If successful the funding will be used to REDUCE our demand for
electricity by RETAINING as much as we can, RE-CYCLING the surface
water to use in the toilets, RE-USING the heat extracted from the
cellar and installing RENEWABLE energy sources to provide the
electricity we do need.
The feasibility of a wind turbine(on a nine metre mast) at the
centre will be further investigated as part of the project. In
parallel with this we will be looking at providing heat more
efficiently using air source heat pumps, and providing heat using
ground source heat pumps.
In addition to reducing our carbon footprint these measures will
substantially reduce our utility bills which currently cost us
approximately £4000 p.a.
We hope that this work will also focus
the communities mind on how it can reduce its' carbon
footprint.
Current
Position - 9 April 2009
PALGRAVE COMMUNITY
POWER CHALLENGE
It is with considerable disappointment that the Palgrave
Community Council have learnt from the East of England Development
Agency EEDA, that the submission for a substantial grant to assist
in power generation, electrical upgrade, new double glazed windows
and insulation at The Community Centre in Palgrave, has not been
successful.
This was not to be a luxury; this was not a whim; this was not a
“wouldn’t it be nice”; this was a serious and far-reaching plan to
create a self-sustaining power system within the Community Centre,
with financial and social spin-off potential into the Palgrave
community.
The PDCC now throws open the challenge for plans and
constructive ideas as to how to make the Centre self-sustaining and
how are we to meet the ever increasing costs of power over the next
20 years and beyond?
We had only one positive alternative suggestion over the last
four weeks, when it was proposed that the £ 60,000 grant we were
trying to obtain, would be best spent distributed across the
households in the village! That would be roughly £ 200 a house to
assist with cutting the household energy waste. However, this idea
missed two critical aspects: that such a payment would be a “one
off”, whereas the wind turbine was for a minimum of 20 years, and
the electricity bill at the Community Centre would still be
awaiting payment – so maybe not such a bright idea after all !
(Older residents already should receive the £200 Government Winter
Fuel allowance.)
There was a handful of opposing comments to the wind-turbine as
well as all those who rang and emailed their support for the
funding proposal.
Well, now is the time to come forward with constructive,
positive plans as well as funding sources, of how to fund the
Community Centre’s electricity bills and how to retain the Centre
as the focus of the village for young and old alike, now, next
week, next month and the years to come.
Very simple really; Choose it, Use it or Lose it; your choice !
Lose the Community Centre and you lose the heart of the
village.
Ideas, plans and suggestions by email or in writing by
31st May to:
Chris Shillinglaw
Chairman
Palgrave & District Community Council
Upper Rose Lane
PALGRAVE
IP22
4AH
email:
shilinglaw@aol.com