Uttlesford: 11 community projects to get £300,000 from district council for projects to tackle climate change
Eleven community projects that seek to tackle climate change have been awarded funding totalling £300,000 by Uttlesford District Council (UDC).
The biggest grant, of £34,900, goes to Stansted's parish council to replace sodium-powered street lights in the village with low-energy LED units, while Birchanger Wood Trust will get £3,451 to install bee swarm boxes in its wood on the outskirts of Bishop's Stortford.
Organisers of the schemes, which aim to reduce carbon emissions, enhance biodiversity or support community engagement in climate change, will receive the funding over two years.
It forms part of UDC's climate change action, which aims to stimulate engagement and share project ideas, success and learning.
The council's Zero Carbon Communities Grant Fund was open to community groups and town and parish councils, with handouts of up to £35,000 available.
The 11 projects are:
- Birchanger Wood Trust – £3,451 for the installation of bee swarm boxes in Birchanger Wood
- Felsted Parish Council – £1,200 to carry out a biodiversity survey of parish council grassed areas
- Quendon & Rickling Parish Council – £5,425 for pond clearance
- Radwinter Recreation Ground Charity – £7,500 to install solar panels on the pavilion
- Saffron Walden Community Energy Ltd – £34,000 towards the next phase of the Littlebury Energy Project decarbonisation plan
- Stansted Mountfitchet Parish Council – £34,900 for replacement sodium-powered street lights
- Sustainable Stansted – £2,000 to support a community engagement project focused on domestic energy consumption and carbon emission reduction
- Stebbing Parish Council – £2,200 to create a community nature area at Mill Lane playing field
- Stebbing Tennis Club – £14,750 for new low-energy LED lighting units
- Wicken Bonhunt Parish – £15,000 to install a ground-mounted solar energy system at St Margaret’s Church and Community Centre
- Wimbish Parish Council – £5,000 for the restoration and creation of a wildflower meadow.
Cllr Louise Pepper, UDC's portfolio holder for environment and green issues, said: “We received applications from a good range of initiatives, which highlights the commitment of our communities in wanting to make a positive environmental impact in their neighbourhoods.
"The council declared a climate emergency in 2019 and is working to reduce its own carbon footprint whilst also encouraging and enabling communities to do so too. This grants scheme is one way that can help us to reach our goal.”
In total, £125,000 in grants have been allocated in year one of the scheme. Any surplus funding will roll forward into year two and an application process will open later this year.
