Climate Plan

March 2023 – Climate Plan relaunched

After declaring a climate emergency in 2019 and launching a public engagement strategy later that year the Covid pandemic interrupted the project for the next three years. In the interim the Parish Council applied for and received a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund to fund baseline studies into the parish housing stock, the potential for rooftop solar PV, and the opportunities for community owned renewables. At the same time the AONB published a report on habitat improvements in the Crydda stream catchment.

In March 2023 the climate plan was re-launched at a public meeting attended by forty local residents.

The meeting started with a presentation of the three detailed studies; these included a retrofit assessment of the parish housing stock, the potential for rooftop solar PV and the potential for community owned renewable generation. The presentation also included an assessment by the AONB of the scope for habitat enhancements and carbon sequestration in the Crydda stream catchment.

Some key results from this work are as follows:

• 83% of homes have a Band D or lower energy performance assessment and need upgrading to at least Band C.
• The cost of retrofitting all homes to Band C is around £20million: an average of around £25,000 per household.
• If all suitable houses were fitted with solar PV and a battery they would generate around 6.5 MW of electricity enough to provide 40% of future annual demand.
• Excluding the AONB and other constraints such as effect on views and distance from properties there is scope for around 6MW of renewable wind and solarPV which could meet around 70% of future demand.

After a Q&A session the audience divided into four groups to discuss the findings of the studies and suggest actions that could be taken to reduce the Parish’s carbon emissions and support the aim of reaching net zero emissions by 2035.

At the end of the meeting a number of people signed up to join the Steering Group and five working groups to take the project forward.

The presentation, reports and the list of actions from the meeting can be found at the bottom of the page.

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Following the meeting the steering group met to consider the outcome of the meeting and made a number of decisions:

• A Farming and Wildlife working group will be formed including representatives from the local farming community, the National Trust, Ruda, and local residents.
• An EV working group will be established and will organise an EV event towards the end of May which will include displays around purchasing EVs, EV charging, and EV batteries, as well as a number of local electric cars and their owners.
• A solar PV group will be set up to explore ways to increase the takeup of rooftop solar and identify sources of grants and low cost loans.
• Articles highlighting positive actions around the Parish to address climate change and wildlife issues and provide useful information to residents will be posted on local Facebook pages and in the Crydda on a regular basis.
• The Steering Group is well supported but there is a need to attract more people to join the working groups.
• The Steering Group will meet regularly every 6 weeks or so to monitor progress, receive feedback from the working groups, plan the public engagement activity, and develop the Climate Plan.

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History of the project

Progress During the Pandemic

Despite the problems posed by the Covid pandemic some activity in pursuit of the climate goals has taken place. A Facebook page under the title “Zero Croyde and Georgeham” was established in 2019 and has 160 followers to date and is used regularly to post relevant articles and event news. There is also a Zero Croyde and Georgeham newsletter which has around 80 subscribers.

Some positive steps have been taken by the council and landowners and farmers with significant tree planting around the parish and local milk and vegetables on sale direct from the farm. In discussions with the beach ranger at RUDA it is clear that they are already taking steps to improve biodiversity around the site and have ambitious plans for further enhancing habitats on their landholding in particular around the lakes.

November 2021 – Climate Action Report

In November 2021 a report was presented to the Parish Council setting out the role the Council can play in helping the parish reduce its greenhouse gas emissions, and the steps it needs to take to develop a Climate Action Plan to sit alongside the Neighbourhood Plan.

The council can support the transition to a net-zero economy in the following ways:

Decision making

The Council needs to take the climate crisis into account in all its decisions.

Leadership and advocacy

The council can be effective in promoting action in the community by individuals, businesses, and landowners for example by providing high quality advice in the areas of transport, energy, food, and biodiversity at public events and on social media.

It can also support the need for more renewable energy resources which can reduce and eventually eliminate the need to use fossil fuels in heating our homes and powering our vehicles.

Neighbourhood Plan

The Council now has an approved Neighbourhood Plan. This is a powerful collection of policies fundamentally addressing land use issues around the parish. The plan is a live document that will be updated on a regular basis to reflect changing priorities. An early review of the plan should be undertaken to better reflect the climate emergency.

The Climate Plan

The council is now developing a plan to set out the actions needed over the next ten years or so to meet the climate emergency. This plan will sit alongside, and be reviewed in close relationship with, the Neighbourhood Plan. This plan, like the Neighbourhood Plan, will be developed with the support and engagement of local residents, businesses, and landowners.

The actions needed will cover community engagement and education, whole house retrofit, transition to electric vehicles including EV charging provision, habitat restoration and rewilding, localising food production, renewable energy, and alternative transport provision.

September 2019 – Climate Emergency Declared

In September 2019 Georgeham Parish Council declared a climate emergency in recognition of the clear evidence that climate change represents a threat to the life opportunities and well-being of future generations, and needs to be addressed at all levels of government.

The Council further declared that all its future actions and decisions will take account of the need to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and reach net-zero carbon by 2030.

The Council also recognises that addressing the challenges of climate change will result in many benefits in terms of health, wellbeing, and community resilience.

As a major tourist destination the parish has a special opportunity to show leadership on this issue and to engage with the many thousands of visitors who come here to enjoy our beaches and coastal scenery.

In November 2019 a public meeting to launch the climate emergency plan attracted over 90 residents and resulted in setting up four working groups looking at food, energy, transport and biodiversity. This early enthusiasm was soon interrupted by the Covid crisis in the spring of 2020 which effectively stopped meetings and events.