Objectives of the Low Carbon Warwickshire Network

• Champion the Network
  • Ensure the Network grows through having a collaborative vision, being relevant and winning hearts and minds
  • Act as one voice on behalf of rural communities
  • Bring people and communities together to share ideas and stimulate both formation of new community groups and increase project activity which aims to achieve a low carbon, sustainable future
  • Facilitate action by helping people initiate the formation of new rural community groups
  • Make timely decisions and actions to progress activities
• Enable Effective Communications
  • Share interesting and useful information on decarbonisation with all Network members
  • Aim to create a central hub of information, sign posting to available advice and guidance
  • Ensure information about the actions taken by the Steering Group, Funding Consortium, any sub- groups and community groups are communicated effectively
• Funding
  • Secure funding when needed to enable growth of the Network
  • Ensure community groups are aware of funding opportunities and support them to submit bids for specific projects
  • Help make sure Warwickshire community groups get a fair share of any available funding
• Projects
  • Identify opportunities for communities to more effectively deliver projects together such as bulk purchase of EV charge points
• Horizon Scanning
  • Notify members as soon as practical if any matter arises which will affect the future development of the Network 

The rationale for the Network

• Rural areas face barriers to decarbonisation – lower budgets and funding rules which favour urban areas.
• Councils in London receive £482 per head. Metropolitan boroughs and cities receive £351 per head, county areas receive £182 per head
• Harder for people living in rural areas to switch to more sustainable transport – people further away from hospital, town centres etc.
• Rural bus services often cut in cost savings
• Broad band doesn’t reach all isolated areas
• Rural communities find it harder to attract funding for projects when traditional cost benefit analyses favour urban populations
• Rural areas – can feel the effects of climate change more – more vulnerable to weather extremes – flooding – less gritting in winter
• Droughts and floods damage food production
• Rural households more likely to have oil central heating-who are more frequently in fuel poverty
• Rural areas often have best potential to implement solutions to climate change
• Countryside offers more space to plant trees to offset carbon emissions
• Better potential for renewable energy generation – wind and solar
• Rural communities can be close knit allowing relaxed informal communication and engagement as a pre-cursor to formal discussion and approval of projects.
• Rural communities tend to be receptive to energy efficiency advice, especially if from people they know and therefore trust.
• Rural communities tend to be very supportive to others in the community – for example people with 4 by 4 vehicles offering lifts to key workers when it snows, volunteer drivers taking people to medical appointments etc.