Warwickshire News Mine

Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods is working with Warwickshire County Council’s Switch it Off team to drive home the energy saving message to an array of groups.

BSN has been urging people to turn off lights and unwanted appliances both as part of this week’s National Energy Saving week, and in support of Switch it Off next week.

And to give groups a head start in both reducing their impact on the environment and saving money, BSN has been distributing hundreds of low energy light bulbs.

Community groups throughout Nuneaton and Bedworth have been doing their bit, by becoming more energy efficient, through assistance from Warwickshire County Council’s (WCC) Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods (BSN), Carbon Footprint programme.

Participating community groups were provided with a free energy audit of their community venue, after which an Energy Action Plan was developed.

At which point BSN assisted the groups if they wanted to apply for funding to implement any of the recommended energy efficiency measures. So far 16 community groups have participated in the project and over £40,000 of funding has been allocated to implement the energy efficiency measures.

Pastels Day centre were just one of the group to secure funding from BSN.

Roy Gbasai, of Pastels, said: “This funding from BSN has enabled us to become more energy efficient within the building and make our limited finical resources stretch further. This project has encouraged many of our services users to become more efficient with the way they use energy “

And this week has seen BSN visit the Sikh Mission Centre with hundreds of low energy light bulbs and Kolin Basra from the centre is distributing these bulbs to all 300 members - about 80 families.
He is also going to write a letter explaining what’s happened in the centre, including the installation of a new more efficient boiler thanks to BSN and that this is now to encourage them to be energy efficient at home.

Kolin Basra said: “We really appreicate the funding from Building Sustainable Neighbourhoods, it has helped integrate the communities, and now with the energy saving drive within the centre, we are very pleased to be able to support the local community to make savings in both energy costs and C02 emissions in their own homes."

Switch it Off week is building up to an event on Friday, November 2, from 4.30pm until 6.30pm where everyone is being urged to try and use as little electricity as possible as part of a Big Switch Off.

Warwickshire County Council, Coventry City Council, Worcestershire County Council, and the Warwickshire Energy Efficiency Advice Centre, are leading the way with many other partners this year to drive home ‘Switch it Off’.

If everyone in Warwickshire, Coventry and Worcestershire stopped leaving appliances on stand by it would prevent 86,322 tonnes of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere through wasted electricity and save more than £20m (enough to pay the annual electricity bill for 71,953 homes).

Carbon dioxide is the main climate change causing gas. In the UK, the energy we use to heat and power our homes accounts for 27 per cent of our total carbon dioxide emissions and this continues to rise.

Cllr Martin Heatley, Warwickshire County Council’s Portfolio Holder for the Environment, said: “It really doesn’t take a lot to think about saving energy. You are not only saving the planet from the comfort of your own home, but also cutting your own energy bill by up to 25 per cent.

”It’s interesting to see how people behave towards energy. Prices have gone up massively in recent years, yet the vast majority of people remain unaware of what they are spending on their energy. People will drive out of their way to get a penny off a litre of petrol, yet ask them what a kilowatt hour of electricity costs them and they won’t have a clue.”

For more information on taking steps to `Switch it off’ visit http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/switchitoff or call the energy advice hotline on 0800 512012.

If you are involved in a community group and would like a free energy audit of your community venue contact Abi Windridge at BSN on Tel: 02476 350631 or email abiwindridge@warwickshire.gov.uk

Link to WCC