News
Four New Nottingamshire Electric Buses to Hit the Road
Thu, 21 February 2019Nottinghamshire is set to benefit from four new electric buses worth £900,000, due to hit the roads in 2020.
Buses Minister Nusrat Ghani announced today that Nottinghamshire Council County is one of only three regional organisations that has secured funding from the Office for Low Emission Vehicles (OLEV) to help fund new green vehicles and infrastructure. Nottinghamshire County Council, Trent Barton and Nottingham City Transport are all successful bidders and will receive funding to purchase new low emission buses and support infrastructure, such as charge points.
County Councillor John Cottee, Chairman of the Communities and Place Committee, said:
'This is fantastic news. This latest £900,000 funding means we can add to our electric bus fleet by introducing four new buses to serve local communities in the Rushcliffe and Mansfield areas. Even more bus passengers in Nottinghamshire will therefore benefit from the quieter, sleek and pollution-free buses, thanks to zero emission bus technology which will help improve air quality and reduce CO2 emissions.
'We are match funding this Government money as its hoped that this investment will encourage further take up of electric buses by bus operators as well as encouraging more people to use the bus.
'Our current two electric buses, which were introduced last summer thanks to a previous round of Government funding, are already serving residents across Stapleford, Toton, Attenborough and Beeston.'
Cash for Derbyshire Community Activities
Thu, 21 February 2019
A number of environmentally-themed projects have received cash from Derbyshire County Council's Action Grants scheme and there's still more to give away.
There's £1.25m still available and more than 200 community groups have already cashed in. Among these is the Eyam Repair Café which launched in February and will become part of a worldwide network of repair cafes where qualified volunteers repair stuff rather than it being thrown out.
Eyam resident Colin Shaw, who is helping to run the café, said: “Getting a £500 Action Grant has made the repair café possible. We used the money to buy toolkits and some for publicity. We’re already getting lots of interest from the local community and beyond.”
Colin added: “Applying for the grant was really straightforward and we found out in just a couple of weeks that we had been successful”.
There is a rolling programme of applications and the council will be awarding grants until the end of May 2020.
Applications Open for Youth Environmental Programme
Thu, 21 February 2019
Applications are open for Bright Green Future, a UK-wide environmental leadership programme for young people (14-17) run by the Centre for Sustainable Energy. The scheme is looking for the next cohort of young people who are passionate about the environment and want to gain the skills and knowledge to create a different world.
Bright Green Future is CSE's environmental leadership programme for teenagers aged 14-17 who want to create a more sustainable future for our planet, learn about climate change and environmental protection, gain confidence and meet like-minded people. It’s a unique opportunity for young people to learn about sustainability and environmental decision-making as well as improve prospects for future jobs and university.
The one-year programme consists of structured training, mentoring, a local project, a work placement and a residential summer school out in the wild. Each young person on the programme is assigned a mentor from the Bright Green Future team at CSE to help them find a work placement and organise their project.
One previous participants said: 'It’s very easy to feel overwhelmed in regards to climate change but on Bright Green Future it was really lovely to meet so many like-minded people with passion for the environment and gave me a lot of hope for the future.'
www.bright-green-future.org.uk
Community Renewable Project Progress in Hope Valley
Thu, 14 February 2019Over the last year, Hope Valley Renewables has been exploring community energy opportunities in the Hope Valley. Working with Sheffield Renewables, the group has now reached agreement with Hope Valley College to explore the possibility of installing a solar array on their roof, to generate electricity to be used at the College (as well as providing a teaching resource). It is hoped that, subject to certain technical and structural requirements being met, this will be registered before the end of March and installed in the early summer.
Anyone who is interested in investing in this project, which is anticipated to generate 2-3% return for investors over 20 years as well as paying into a community benefit fund, can register their interest in advance by contacting Jeremy Wight at mandyjeremy@yahoo.co.uk.
Further information can be found on the Sheffield Renewables website.
National Trust Forced to Allow Seismic Surveying at Clumber Park
Thu, 14 February 2019The National Trust has been forced by INEOS, a fracking company, to withdraw legal opposition to seismic surveying at Clumber Park. Seismic surveying is the first step in ascertaining if hydraulic fracturing (more commonly known as fracking) is possible in an area.
The National Trust released a statement in which they said: ‘We can assure you that the Trust remains fundamentally against fracking at Clumber Park, and will fight tooth and nail to protect the Park.’ The trust is now focusing efforts on making sure that wildlife is protected during the seismic surveying.
https://bit.ly/2Rufv1L