Blog

Sunny side up for Ambleside

Sixty per cent of Ambleside’s annual domestic energy consumption could be powered with solar PV systems. That’s according to a study done by Alex Boyd who came into the CAfS office recently to present his findings to a wide-eyed audience of our staff.

Alex’s aim was to produce a workable methodology to create large-scale assessments of roof space for solar panels using publicly available data. The lakeside town was chosen as the guinea pig for this study as part of the Ambleside to Zero programme, but the method was designed to apply to any town on the map.

Using LiDAR (basically RADAR but with light) data from satellite images, Alex was able to identify all roofs big enough for solar panels.

He then eliminated various sites from consideration using a dizzying array of parameters. Any roof that was too small, too steep or too shaded was cast aside for only the most prime rooftop real estate.

After combining this information with Ambleside’s admittedly modest record of sunshine, he managed to calculate a total potential energy output of 3.5 GWh. That’s the equivalent of brewing 175 million cups of tea which, coincidentally, is also how Alex got through the process of calculating all this data.

While the findings from the study have exciting implications for the future of renewable energy sources in Cumbria, it also suggests that we as individuals needn’t simply wait for change to happen. Just over sixty per cent of the total output came from roofs that produced less than 3000 kwh (that is, residential homes). This suggests that individual homes do have the capacity to change our overall energy habits for the greener.

Alex has recently graduated from the University of Lancaster with a master’s degree in physics, astrophysics & cosmology, so it’s hardly surprising that the CAfS staff felt like they had just walked out of a NASA briefing when he wrapped up!

Alex’s work is one of the projects that CAfS is undertaking to support the Ambleside to Zero programme, a whole-place approach to cutting emissions in the town. The programme is being run by the community organisation Ambleside Action for a Future (AAFAF), supported by South Lakeland District Council. Have a look at the AAFAF website to find out about the programme overall. We’re excited to be playing a part in it – watch this space for more updates soon.

1 February 2020
Calling all EV drivers & wannabes!

Do you drive an electric vehicle (EV) or do you want to? We’re looking for drivers to take part in a focus group about life as the owner of an EV.

In particular, we’re looking for people who own an EV but can’t install a charger at their home. Maybe you live in an apartment or terraced home without a driveway, for example. We would love to know how you manage!

Maybe your workplace has EV chargers. Perhaps you’re extremely good at time management. Maybe you’re Elon Musk and have just moved to a terraced maisonette in Staveley.

However you do it, we want to hear it.

We’d also love to hear from you if you’d like to buy an EV but haven’t yet made the switch. What aspects of EV life are proving a barrier? What would it take to tip the scale?

If any of the above applies to you and you’d be willing to help build our understanding about EV use, please get in touch with [email protected]. It’s all part of our support for a new programme to install 200 charge points around the north of England, led by Charge My Street and funded by Innovate UK.

31 January 2020
Sharing is caring

A community share offer will be opening soon for Charge My Street, an enterprise that funds the installation of community-owned electric vehicle (EV) charge points.

In the coming year, Charge My Street will be installing 200 charge points throughout the north of England, working with a range of partners, including CAfS. It’s all part of a programme funded by Innovate UK. The aim is for the charge points to be funded through a public share offer run by Charge My Street.

Communities and individuals who make an investment will therefore own a part of the expanding charge point network that will help to fuel the use of EVs in our region.

The vision of Charge My Street is for all homes without a driveway to be within five minutes’ walk of a charge point, so that no matter where you live, you can help drive forward the EV revolution!

Investors will benefit from full SEIS and EIS tax relief. Charge My Street will release details of the share offer shortly, and it’s likely to run only until the end of March, so you’ll want to get in quick. We’ll keep you posted on our social media and website when it goes live. Watch this space!

31 January 2020
Meet the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership
[Article updated October 2021]

More than seventy Cumbrian organisations are working together to drive down the county’s carbon emissions, co-chaired by Karen Mitchell from CAfS. Here’s our at-a-glance guide to the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership, and what it aims to do.

What’s the partnership for?

The Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership includes a wide range of organisations with a key role to play in decarbonising the county at the pace and scale required by climate science, and ensuring that Cumbria benefits from the opportunities this brings.

The purpose of the group is to plan and oversee a radical programme of action that will enable Cumbria to become a carbon neutral county and to mitigate the likely impact of existing climate change.

Who’s on the partnership?

The member organisations include the county’s local authorities, businesses, local sustainability groups, schools, the NFU, NHS, police, Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), national parks, Natural England, the Environment Agency, Electricity North West and United Utilities and many more.

Who runs it?

Karen Mitchell from CAfS co-chairs the group with Angela Jones, executive director for economy and infrastructure at Cumbria County Council. Tim Gale is the ZCCP manager, based at Cumbria County Council. The group reports to Cumbria Leaders’ Board, Cumbria Chief Executives’ Group, Cumbria Local Authority Officers’ Group and Cumbria Sustainability Network.

What’s the partnership doing?

The group’s in its early stages, but has already made some big strides forward, laying the groundwork for moving towards a zero-carbon county. We need to understand what the county’s carbon footprint is currently, and the sources of our emissions, so that we can prioritise action. The partnership commissioned a baseline carbon audit for the county from carbon footprinting expert Mike Berners-Lee of Small World Consulting, and this has now been published.

See Cumbria’s baseline carbon audit >

Next steps

Define a clear definition for carbon neutral for Cumbria

Propose a target date for reaching this target

Identify leadership for developing action to tackle key sources of emissions. The partnership is currently developing sector leads and working groups.

Establish a programme of action by key partners

Lead joint campaigning to encourage wider public awareness and action

A huge stride forward

The Zero Carbon Partnership marks a sea change in the scale of focus on decarbonisation in Cumbria. We’re hugely excited by it at CAfS – after all, a zero carbon Cumbria is our vision.

We’re extremely optimistic that the partnership will be successful in its aims. Here’s why:

It is diverse, community led, genuinely cross sector – from the largest organisations to small, very local sustainability groups, embedded in their communities.

It does not stand alone, shouting at people about a single issue from the outside – it is embedded in existing structures and focuses on co-benefits.

Partners are fully committed – they are sending senior staff and budget holders and committing staff time and resources.

Our ambition is high but based on evidence.

We have attracted significant funding for a programme of work.

Getting such a range of partners together to do this, and to jointly fund the baseline report, has been a huge achievement itself. It speaks volumes about how much of a priority climate change has become.

As a partnership, we have acknowledged that, in the context of climate crisis it is a mistake to think that if everyone does a little we can achieve a lot. If everyone does a little, we will collectively achieve only a little.

The days are gone where we can congratulate ourselves for taking a step in the right direction – if that is where we stop. We have to act at the pace and scale required by science.

And that is what the Zero Carbon Cumbria Partnership aims to do.
30 January 2020
MPs join CAfS for Big Energy Saving Week 2020

It was a meeting of old friends and new on Friday as CAfS’ Cold to Cosy Homes officers teamed up with local MPs to spread the word to shoppers.

This was in aid of Big Energy Saving Week 2020, a national campaign to help people cut energy bills with the support they need. This was very fitting for Andrew and Tina who have celebrating energy saving week for a few months by this point.

At Morrisons in Penrith, Neil Hudson, the new MP for Penrith and the Border, spent just under an hour with Tina and Gemma from C2C as well as our CEO Karen. They spoke with shoppers as they went about their day on how the scheme is reducing energy costs and wastage across Cumbria.

Neil said: “This is a fantastic project. I think it really helps people improve their homes, makes them more energy efficient and, very importantly for us, helps people support our environment and work toward a much more sustainable future for all. I’m really happy to lend my personal support to this great initiative.

I think we’ve got to encourage people to look after the environment and part of that is what people can do in their own homes to make us more energy efficient.

This initiative is great because it gives people the support if they’re struggling to pay for it”.

Cold to Cosy was very much an appropriate label as the CAfS team stood in the supermarket foyer in between gales of wind and the heated store entrance. This didn’t put people off though and Penrith locals were more than happy to park their trolleys and have a natter about tariffs and radiator reflectors.

Not allowing our South Cumbrian friends to miss out, Andrew spent some time at Hallgarth Community Centre in Kendal before heading over to Booths supermarket to meet up with Tim Farron, MP for Westmorland and Lonsdale as well as South Lakes Housing.

The team fielded scores of questions from curious residents, many of whom believed they couldn’t qualify for the help because they lived in a rented home. In fact, renters can greatly benefit from the scheme as they are often eligible for draught proofing (with the owner’s permission, of course).

Tim was an enthusiastic promoter of Cold to Cosy Homes and spoke of its benefits to many shoppers.

The Cold to Cosy Homes service has been running throughout the Winter period and there’s still time to get involved and see if you could save on your energy usage. If you think you might know anyone who our team could help them don’t hesitate to point them our way!

If you’re feeling really helpful, why not book on to our last Cold to Cosy Homes Champions training day in Carlisle where you can learn the skills needed to refer those who need the support most. It’s totally free, only takes a couple of hours and there may even be biscuits if you’re lucky.

24 January 2020
CAfS catches up with Natural Cumbria

Have you come across Natural Cumbria yet? It’s an online directory of sustainable businesses in the county.

Emma from CAfS attended their first business network meeting last month, in the appropriately candlelit, wooden-floored surrounds of the Lancrigg Hotel.

Natural Cumbria are very kindly raised funds for CAfS and the environmental charity Another Way at their sustainable Christmas market in Ambleside on 7 December 2019. Amy from Another Way gave a powerful talk on climate emergency and the need to take action.

It was great to meet the fantastic range of businesses there. There were health and wellbeing providers (from yoga to skincare and healing), cafes and hotels, ethical financial investment, authors and creative businesses from all over the county. We made some great new contacts. It was particularly interesting to see that there’s lots of interest in growing food and in low-carbon menus for hotels and cafes.

The directory is a great resource if you’re trying to find products and services that are environmentally friendly, and from suppliers who are actively interested in operating in a more sustainable way. And, if you’re a business who’d like to be listed, do check out their website.

20 December 2019
Kieran Macfadzean, CAfS TV

Well, hello there. I’m Kieran Macfadzean. You may remember me from such TV channels as That’s Cumbria.

Dated Simpsons references aside, I’ve joined CAfS at the very tail end of 2019 to be given just enough time to learn where the teabags are kept before I’m sent away for my Christmas holidays. Once the tinsel is taken down though, I’ll be getting to work on the project to install electric vehicle charging points across the North West of England. I’ll also be supporting Jaki in the day-to-day running of the website as well as helping out in the writing and posting of communications material across all of CAfS services.

As mentioned, those in Cumbria with either a marked interest in local news or a faulty television remote may have watched me as the lead presenter of the That’s TV Cumbria news bulletin on channel 8. During my time at the programme, I’ve travelled the length and breadth of the county to uncover stories and interview the people making things happen throughout the region. If your church crowdfunded a new roof or a hotel threatened to collapse, I was probably stood nearby with a microphone and a dream of bagging an interview with a councillor.

As I’ve found out while looking at Cumbria through a camera lens, it’s fairly green (both in an activism and very much literal sense). There is no shortage of people in our region working to mitigate the impact of the climate emergency and it’s been my pleasure to pick the brains of dozens of them during the last year. I’ve even produced news pieces on CAfS’ Cold to Cosy scheme and the Cumbria Climate Survey 2019 which, at the very least, meant that I knew where to turn up to on Monday.

I’ve always found the work of anyone fighting to maintain the balance of our world admirable and necessary. My induction at CAfS has left me looking forward to getting started on helping with that work and I hope that I can, in some minute way, contribute to the sustainability of the beautiful and verdant surroundings I’ve grown up in.

That’s all from me. I look forward to engaging with the CAfS community in the near future but in the meantime, have a splendid Christmas and a smashing New Year.

20 December 2019
Meet our new CEO!

We were very excited to welcome on board our new chief executive, Karen Mitchell, this month. Karen is now settling into her position at our helm, while her predecessor, Hazel Graham, gets busy in her new CAfS post, bringing some of the most influential organisations in Cumbria together to tackle climate change. Watch this space to hear more about what Hazel’s been doing in the new year. Meanwhile, Karen shares her thoughts about the challenges and opportunities ahead for CAfS…

I’m delighted to be writing to you as the new CEO of Cumbria Action for Sustainability. I have long admired the impact of CAfS so I feel tremendously privileged to have been given the opportunity to work with this dedicated team at such a critical time for all our futures. I’m particularly pleased that Hazel Graham, the previous CEO, is now able to forge ahead in her new development role at CAfS, a visionary and vital role for both the charity and Cumbria.

For 20 years CAfS has been true to its vision of a zero-carbon Cumbria, working away diligently towards that outcome in many different ways – from tackling fuel poverty and developing renewable energy initiatives to inspiring communities to reduce waste and grow food and giving young people a voice. It works collaboratively at all levels across the county – with individuals, communities, businesses, local authorities and partnerships. It is an organisation that punches well above its weight.

In the last year, demand for the expertise, knowledge and networks that CAfS has developed over two decades has shot up – the need is intense and growing. A key priority in my first few months is to ensure we can respond to this demand and provide the kind of support that individuals, communities, businesses and local authorities are calling for to most effectively navigate a course towards zero carbon.

Funding for non-governmental organisations like CAfS to work on climate change has historically been very, very low. We need this to change rapidly and for foundations and trusts to realise that this is indeed a climate emergency, there is no time to waste and that support for action needs to be prioritised.

We all face the challenge of climate change – it can seem scary and unknowable at times, but there are solutions and actions we can all take. I look forward to helping bring those solutions to Cumbria.

20 December 2019
Tips for a sustainable Christmas
With just a few days left for those Christmas preparations, here are our last-minute tips for celebrating this festive time of the year, without costing the Earth!

Still looking for last-minute presents? There’s a big trend this year for buying experiences instead of physical gifts. Vouchers for local restaurants, theatres, cinemas and other venues are a great way to support your area’s businesses and they don’t come in wasteful packaging.

If you’re wrapping physical gifts, try using some nice cloth material – it’s two gifts in one, as your recipient can reuse it. You can use narrow strips of cloth as ribbons to tie up your present. An alternative is to simply use newspaper and string (a good way to avoid cellotape). If you explain why you’ve chosen a more sustainable wrapping, perhaps you’ll inspire your recipient to do the same!

When it comes to protecting the environment and cutting your carbon footprint, your food choices will make a big difference. The food we eat is responsible for 80 per cent of tropical deforestation – including to produce feed for the 10 million turkeys bought in the UK at Christmas. Could this be the year you try a meat-free Christmas dinner?

The equivalent of about two million turkeys end up in the bin over the festive period, along with lots of other food. Our top tips to avoid food waste are to plan how you’ll use up your leftovers in advance, and to dish out a small quantity onto plates. People can then come back for seconds if they’d like. That way, most of your leftovers will be in your pots rather than on plates, so you can put them away to use up later.

If you’ve got lots of folk coming to your house over Christmas, here are a few tips for avoiding disposable plates, cups and cutlery:
i. Check out the charity shops for some extras – you can always donate them back afterwards.
ii. See if you can borrow some.
iii. Would your visitors go along with bringing their own, to help you out and reduce waste?
iv. If you’re using disposables, choose ones that don’t contain any plastic.
20 December 2019
Ambleside to zero carbon – the story so far

Could Ambleside become a zero carbon community? That’s certainly the goal of the town’s sustainability organisation, Ambleside Action for a Future (AAFAF), and CAfS is helping to make it a reality.

In 2019, we began a package of support for the town, thanks to support from South Lakeland District Council and the Space to Connect fund. Here’s a quick guide to what’s been happening.

All in the plan

What would it take for Ambleside to become carbon neutral? That’s the big question, and we’re helping to answer it. We’re creating a detailed, costed programme that would lead AAFAF towards their goal.

“The first step is to learn what the community wants to happen, and then we’ll develop the plan in partnership with them,” said Rhona Pringle from CAfS. Rhona has been working closely with AAFAF, attending their monthly meetings to learn about their ambitions for the town, and to offer advice.

She has also been supporting some of the sub-groups within AAFAF, including their ‘Ambleside to Zero’ group and the Incredible Edible Ambleside team.

Becoming carbon neutral will mean working with a wide range of partners, and Rhona has begun making some of those links – for example, with the University of Cumbria, Ellergreen Hydro, the Lake District National Park Authority (LDNPA) and local businesses.

Funding

Alongside South Lakeland District Council’s funding to develop the plan, Rhona has also secured £7,300 from the Co-op Foundation’s Space to Connect fund.

Thanks to this funding boost, AAFAF has been holding community conversations about how green spaces could be used around the town. Two sessions took place on 20 and 20 November 2020.

Based on the outcomes from these conversations, AAFAF will deliver workshops based on the outcomes of these conversations, and they’ll undertake training to prepare the group to deliver projects in the future.

Inspiration

CAfS is helping AAFAF to capture learning and inspiration from what’s been achieved elsewhere. In November 2019, we organised a talk and discussion evening with Pam Warhurst, who co-founded the Incredible Edible movement. Pam told the story of how Incredible Edible got started, what it hoped to achieve, and how it has grown – from a herb planter in Todmorden, to hundreds of groups around the world.

“The event gave people from Ambleside and the wider South Lakes district the chance to talk to Pam about the challenges and successes they’ve had with local schemes, hopefully giving encouragement and inspiring others to give community gardening a try,” Rhona said.

Where are we starting from?

We need to know what Ambleside’s carbon footprint is now, so that we can measure the impact of local actions to reduce emissions.

We’ve arranged for a team of specialists to produce a very high-level carbon footprint covering both residents and businesses in Ambleside. The Lake District National Park Authority is funding the residential aspect of it, with CAfS funding the business element. This work, by Small World Consulting, is due to be completed in December 2019.

Residents

“The carbon footprint will give us a high-level measure for strategic planning, but we recognise that individuals need to understand what their own carbon footprint is, to inform their decisions on ways to reduce it,” Rhona said.

“A CAfS volunteer has done short study looking into the various online carbon footprint tools, to see whether any of them might be suitable for Ambleside residents to use.”

Our volunteer looked at eight tools in more detail and the two options we thought could work best are:

The Carbon Footprint calculator www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator

the Resurgence Carbon Dioxide Calculator, www.resurgence.org/resources/carbon-calculator.html.

“The main issue with most of the online calculators is that it’s not easy to save and share results, which makes it more difficult for people to track whether any changes they make in their lifestyles bring about a reduction in their carbon footprint,” Rhona said.

Hospitality

There’s a high number of hospitality businesses in Ambleside, so the carbon footprint of the hospitality sector here is likely to be much higher than the average town. As with the online tools for households, we’re looking into ways to assess online options for hospitality businesses. Watch this space!

Energy

Energy is typically one of the biggest contributors to any area’s carbon footprint – from generation to supply and consumption.

AAFAF’s Ambleside to Zero group has done a preliminary assessment of electricity and gas consumption in Ambleside for the latest available year, 2017. It’s based on postcode-level data from the government website: www.gov.uk/government/collections/sub-national-electricity-consumption-data.

Their research has found that 3,816,047kWh of electricity were consumed in the Ambleside area in 2017, with gas consumption of 12,252,432.91.

As well as reducing the amount of energy used, it’s important to identify what opportunities there are for generating renewable energy in Ambleside.

We’ve begun exploring options for photovoltaics and hydro power.

Photovoltaics (solar)

Working with Lancaster University, CAfS and AAFAF arranged for an intern to map the potential roof space in Ambleside that might be suitable for hosting photovoltaic (PV) panels.

The work was carried out in October and November 2019, and the results are now being considered. We’ll be able to use this data to estimate the maximum potential generating capacity of roof-mounted PV for Ambleside.

We have supported intern’s work by providing him with an induction about PV and we’re extremely grateful to Martin Sleath at the LDNPA and Ben Dyson from Lakes Renewables for their support with the project.

Following on from this report, a software developer from Lancaster University’s Cumbria Innovation Platform will be developing software for mapping the PV. Hopefully this would allow us to change variables and re-estimate the maximum potential area and generating capacity of the remaining area. We’re hoping this work will be completed by the start of February 2020.

We can then begin exploring how a whole-place approach to PV installation to meet local demand can be progressed.

We’re also examining different models for community renewable energy.

Hydro

We’re looking into whether an existing hydro scheme near Ambleside could supply energy to the town. The challenge is that the existing regulatory framework for electricity supply is not compatible with such small-scale community energy schemes, and we’ve been looking into ways to overcome this.

Find out more

Visit the AAFAF website for more information on the group’s projects and events: http://aafaf.uk/index.html

5 December 2019