Presentation by Jay Talbot (Community Council of Devon) to the third sector event on the UK Climate Projections tools.
Defra's Innovation Centre
Reading
28 July 2009
Boost Fertility New Invention Ups Success Rates.pdf
Community-Led Planning & Climate Change
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Notas del editor
Working at CCD for 16 years and chief officer for 11
Rural Community Action Network RCAN – made up of the RCCs Planning led by the Community Case studies on climate change Using the local climate projections
The primary support for rural community action ….. 1 national, 8 regional, 38 local development agencies …… .. serving England’s 11,000 rural communities. RCAN – 38 bodies, 12,000 fee paying members, 40,000 contacts, 1,000 practitioners SHARED PURPOSE Support community-led action and local governance Increase long term sustainability of community life Influence policies and services to achieve equity for rural communities Primary deliverers of all round support for community action in rural areas (integrating social, economic, environmental) ‘ Empowerment’ on a wide scale -, 11,000 rural communities, 7,500 Parish & Town Councils, 9,000 community buildings (village halls)
The Rural Community Council for Devon Charitable Company structure Currently 24 staff (many part time) Fairly small RCC and staff team = 19 full time equivalents 900 members (mainly organisations) Assoc = DAPC DPFA DACB 3 rd Sector Declaration on Climate Change We therefore commit to Publicly affirm the importance of urgent action Adopt public plans and appropriate strategies to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions make these plans public within a year. Act as a leader in encouraging and enabling our members, service users and clients to adapt to the impact of climate change, Support national legal targets for green house gas emissions Work with central and local government and others inform, inspire and encourage action CCD’s strapline helping communities help themselves Rurally based – but there are transferable lessons and techniques
Rural community action keeps communities alive, largely through volunteers with limited external support 7,500 examples of independent democratic neighbourhood governance reputation not always brilliant, but many inspirational examples £2.1 billion in assets owned by the community, run by 80,000 trustees, in 9,000 village halls insurance value of buildings 4,000 communities have taken on the challenge of mounting some kind of community led planning
A dialogue within the community, by the community Takes up to 18 months to complete Helps local people learn about their community and what makes it ‘tick’ Moving from passive consumers, fairly inactive consultees to engaged citizens and active groups Holistic – social, environmental, economic Inclusive, realistic, evidenced-based A 9 step process that ends in a formal action plan -- the community’s own vision of its future People mobilised to develop their own neighbourhoods and communities Process as important as product – local people and local groups working together - identifying risks and opportunities for the future RCAN member role is to ensure links with strategic processes (LAA, LSP) and public service providers: RCAN members work with over 250 local authorities, including 57 ‘LAA’-owning principal authorities Leaves a legacy – locally driven / low input / self-sustaining Signpost to CLP leaflet & Community led planning website www.communityledplanning.com
60–95% households engaged by the process Average of 40 priority actions per community 47% actions taken on by communities themselves Strategic links with over 250 local authorities 25% all resulting actions are ‘environmental’
158 completed in Devon 50 more in progress New plans, but also updating older ones ‘ Communities in Action’ database – means of capturing county wide action and progress
Environmental issues (& social inclusion) – highlighting these is key role for CCD Traditionally dog mess and litter Moving to climate change and recycling Recycling – 37 (30% of plans slightly ahead of dog mess – 33 litter – 28 (about 25% composting – 26 energy (renewable and conservation) – 22 (About 20% Many environmental and social initiatives not necessarily seen as climate change related – Rural car club / community shops / social care outreach / local food projects like allotment provision
30 active climate change action groups Transition towns etc Town based – spreading to villages Local activists … and local opposition Very active – strong support, but also strong opposition. Emerging transition villages seem more able to mobilise broad set of local organisations. Variable levels of community engagement Champions vs Community Development Champion schemes catch the imagination of government, local authorities and funders But …. Carrots in the car-park syndrome Understanding community development – leading from the back Forming storming norming and performing NOW A FEW CASE STUDIES
Dartmoor National Park Parish Plan / Climate Change Project. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT FUND (such RCC work hard to fund – seems to close to statutory work) Project also links DCC, Devon Association for Renewable Energy (DARE) and the DAPC Two communities involved Looking at how climate change fits with community-led planning processes to develop and test a methodology for incorporating Climate Change within the Community Led Planning process. Toolkit to be developed for future use Particularly important as plans update
SB21 is a group comprising representatives from the Parish Council, Sustainable South Brent (SSB) and South Brent Community Action. South Brent Parish plan published in 2003 – ready for update events, questionnaires and discussions = draft Parish Plan Review end 2008 This led to the creation of 5 theme groups Home Energy, Community Energy, Local Produce & Services, Transport and Trees group. They started work over the summer of 2007 and Sustainable South Brent was then formally launched in Autumn 2007. Sustainable South Brent: formally launched 2007: Awareness Raising, Base-lining (re Carbon Emissions): Home energy consumption: Tree group: Local Services Group; Transport Group; Community Energy. Challenges to overcome It has proved essential for Climate Action groups to engage with the Parish Council who formally adopt the resultant Action Plans.
5 theme groups Home Energy, Community Energy, Local Produce & Services, Transport and Trees group. They started work over the summer of 2007 and Sustainable South Brent was then formally launched in Autumn 2007. Awareness Raising, - struggle to preach beyond the converted Base-lining (re Carbon Emissions): not found a way to measure their effectivness Home energy consumption: loft insulation and cavity wall insulation – mainstream campaigns Tree group: coppice community woodland Local Services; guide to encourage the use of local shops and suppliers, sponsored by the Parish Council. Transport; improve bus services and working with the primary school on a travel plan Community Energy. Social enterprise for Wind Power, Hydro Power, Solar Power Parish Plan Review embedding actions within the current themes rather than setting it aside as a separate issue. Most important is that the plan is a springboard to projects. SSB see the need for assistance in getting actions underway. Some flexible funding for events and promotion is key so that SSB can concentrate limited voluntary time on getting stuff done! It has proved essential for Climate Action groups to engage with the Parish Council who formally adopt the resultant Action Plans.
Moretonhampstead developed a Parish Plan (2006/07). Coincided with community activity around raising awareness of climate change (talks, film shows, public meetings). MAGS (Moretonhampstead Action Group for Sustainability) was adopted the following month:
Activities: encouraging increased public involvement ; Baselining – MAGS have also been concerned about this. After looking at various options MAGS developed their own trial Carbon Calculator Climate Change Plan; The Parish Plan had already identified some ‘climate change’ activities (eg street lighting, transport / travel) A questionnaire was circulated. The responses were then used to draft a Sustainable Development Action Plan. The plan was then circulated to all households for comment. Household Energy Consumption: home visits Renewable Energy: Developing a mobile wind monitor, available to local residents to assess viability of wind generators. • bulk purchase of solar panels. A deal was negotiated with one supplier at a significantly reduced price. • electricity from 100% renewable sources. MAGS (with other “transition towns”) agreed a special deal with Good Energy. Plastic Bags & Packaging; Recycling; some successes Linking to the town Plan Moretonhampstead Sustainable Development Action Plan will be issued as supplement to the Parish Plan document. street lighting 11pm and 6am and that dimming may be possible cycle path to neighbouring village: old railway line – tourist potential
village hall identified as – control centre + refuge ( elevated position ) . Hall was little used - cold / primitive toilets / inadequate kitchen committee had no chairman / demoralised by the size of the task Rural Community Action Nottinghamshire and Planners advice. Lottery bid developed for proper facilities and reduced running costs (Annual energy and cleaning expenses formed 85% of total expenditure ) The refuge provision now cover ten beds for emergency use, portable folding screens to provide some privacy for overnight occupiers, dual fuel cooking facilities, power from an emergency generator, broadband enabled computer to aid emergency communication as well as a shower and up rated toilets. The ( includes young children, age and medical conditions ) Added value – the hall is cheaper to run and far more use to the community
February 2009 HALDON HILL BLOCKED BY SNO N Night time – main road – this picture more scenic Hundreds stranded – main road from Exeter to Plymouth (M5 continuation) Our Population is urban … but our Geography is rural - Rural communities being prepared has a very real benefit for the whole population Nearest town Chudleigh had an Emergency Plan - Local planning (ex military took the lead!) local knowledge & a pride in doing a good job (cost saving c/f with an unplanned response) – especially in health and welfare terms
Quote from local press headline - Local planning (ex military took the lead!) local knowledge & a pride in doing a good job (cost saving c/f with an unplanned response) – especially in health and welfare terms
18 months work with 8 – 10 local groups Heritage Lottery Fund support Finance to do community work on climate change hard to find – example of how RCCs find ways and means of moving agendas forward Researching extreme weather events to inform future practice Linking local history to community action Transition villages emerging Involvement of Hadley Centre on the planning group means the work is very professionally conducted Local action not an up front outcome – but one that communities come to themselves
Climate change not a priority for many local group Climate change action groups can struggle Parish Councils often lack the capacity, time, commitment, knowledge to take forward all the issues arising from Community Led Planning. Climate Change activity is more likely to be achieved through a local Climate Action Group. Climate Action Groups on their own struggle to get the engagement of the whole community without the continuity of connection with generic community led planning. Need to be challenged - local data improves interest Town/ Parish council endorsement provides momentum and possible grants access Support (eg. local enablers, small grants, database) would be highly effective and value for money RCC type community development work,; toolkits provide guidance. Loading the Climate Change Action Plans onto a searchable database of plans, issues, proposals and actions. Small amounts of funding help to stimulate both planning and implementation. small grants now discontinued) incentivise but also allow for quality control – strings attached eg social inclusion / climate change Need local baseline on carbon emissions Local baseline information on carbon emissions would be invaluable information
Relationship with emergency planning – supports the connection with local authorities Local knowledge and leadership a vital ingredient Effective preparation for extreme weather events has added value (cohesion, facilities, citizenship) Good practice needs sharing / adopting Village agents (Severn floods 2007)
local information could interest communities. if easily available and straightforward. The need to register? Ease of navigation. technical jargon . Front page gives quick and easy access to local data. All the more detailed data could be held at a level within the site where the casual reader would not need to navigate through it. Problem over wide range of scenario which allows for interpretation in a number of different ways. Eg: summer rainfall could reduce by 60% or actually increase by 5%. whatever is considered the most likely scenario which might be ‘medium emissions’ and the 50% probability mark. Recognise some groups are highly developed (or have very technical competent members), others are new (or non techncial – but probaly the most important to help).
Those communities who are already taking action. Need to measure impact eg: baseline position for greenhouse gas emissions and a way of tracking reductions.
CCD’s heritage project using an ‘extreme weather’ historical base – final point The 25km grid is of sufficient immediacy to help identify some local trends and attendant risks. However, given the propensity to micro – climate events in the region, such as the consequences of run-off from high ground (Lynmouth 1952 , Boscastle 2004,) future projections to be topographically sensitive for micro – climate events
Great potential in a strong link between local climate projections and community-led planning Whether general or emergency plans The science will require sensitive interpretation and enablers for local use Suggest we need a workshop providing ‘A layman’s guide to producing local climate predictions,’ Strong potential for more effective links between statutory and community-owned plans on climate change adaptation and mitigation Enabling, facilitating and sharing positive practice is an essential ingredient Can communities tackle this by themselves?
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