- Area:
- East Midlands
- Programme:
- Communities Living Sustainably
- Release date:
- 3 9 2012
An inspirational environmental challenge to transform the lives of people living in Market Harborough Leicestershire today receives £1 million to create a greener and more sustainable future.
Rural Community Council (Leicestershire & Rutland) - Sustainable Harborough Challenge scheme is among 12 successful community schemes across England, awarded under the Big Lottery Fund’s Communities Living Sustainably programme, which aims to inspire people to adapt the way they live and work and connect together to reap financial, environmental and health gains.
Mick McGrath, Big Lottery Fund Head of the East Midlands region said: “When we first launched this initiative at the end of last year, we wanted to ignite the imagination of communities across the East Midlands to think up innovative ways to make sustainable living like second nature, while also addressing the vital need to help the region’s vulnerable reduce their costs and improve their quality of life.
“With adverse weather affecting crops globally - which is likely to cause an increase in food prices in UK supermarkets*- and with fuel bills predicted to rise this winter, now is the time to encourage people to take small steps towards sustainable living at a local level which will help people cope with these added pressures during the recession.”
Market Harborough has around 1,315 fuel poor households** affecting an above average elderly population and vulnerable people including the blind and partially sighted, and people with learning difficulties. Working to reduce local fuel poverty Sustainable Harborough Challenge will deploy a wide range of energy saving activities, such as retro-fitting of water saving devices, a demonstration EcoHouse to monitor energy at street level, and a green deal energy retro fit company and an energy services company to expand renewable energy generation.
The scheme will promote resilience and self-reliance through the recruitment of energy champions such as water champions providing advice on the many ways to save and re use water for garden and household utilities.
Promoting local produce, the project will develop a self-sustaining food growing enterprise including a local food hub, community food growing ventures including cultivation of orchards, and a virtual market place for local food and suppliers. The scheme will develop a green burial site in local woodland and will work to protect local bio diversity by maintaining and enhancing natural habitats, planting wild flowers and plants that attract bees and a variety of insects.
The project will even set up an enterprise for Harborough to have its own currency for visitors to spend in and around the town.
Encouraging shared learning for people of all ages the scheme will provide community education, including an Eco Hub, and Eco Schools to give talks, stage events and provide training.
Sustainable Harborough Challenge will work in partnership with ten organisations including Leicestershire County Council, De Montfort University, Environment Agency, Transition Town Market Harborough, Seven Locks Housing, and Severn Trent Water.
Diana Cook, Project Manager said: “We are delighted to be partnering with Transition Town Market Harborough and also Leicestershire County Council, the Environment Agency and De Montfort University. We want to CHALLENGE everyone in Market Harborough to think and act in more sustainable ways. That includes residents businesses and visitors. We want the community to be involved so that they can plan for the future of where they live and will encourage everyone to get involved. It’s a great opportunity forHarborough to become the flagship sustainable town that helps other towns across the region to become more sustainable.”
Supporting the groups each step of the way will be a partnership, led by Groundwork UK and including BRE, Federation of City Farms, Energy Savings Trust and nef. It will offer advice and guidance and also establish a learning support network to capture and share learning with other communities and inform the future development of investments of BIG’s Sustainable and Resilient Communities strategy. (www.communitieslivingsustainably.org.uk)
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours media contact: 07867 500 572
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Ask BIG a question here: https://ask.biglotteryfund.org.uk
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Notes to Editors
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK. Since June 2004 BIG has awarded over £4.4bn.
- The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £28 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
- *Fuel Poverty Action http://fuelpovertyaction.org.uk/the-facts/
- **Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion (OCSI)
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