Listen
Perthshire town steps up climate change fight
11/11/2008
The Perthshire town of Comrie has launched a community-led project to reduce its carbon footprint.
Comrie, near Crieff, is undertaking a street-by-street home insulation project in partnership with Scottish and Southern Energy, which will also save householders money on their heating bills.
The community is also looking at the sustainable development of nearby land, composting, food production and a local transport plan.
The Comrie Development Trust has received almost £300,000 from the Climate Challenge Fund, supported by the Scottish Government along with the Scottish Green Party.
Cabinet Secretary for the Environment Richard Lochhead said:
"This is a superb example of what can be done with the funds available from the Climate Challenge Fund.
"This project is enormously wide-ranging and there is much for the people of Comrie to be proud of.
"Such a radical move represents commendable action and there is much to be learned from their innovation.
"The street-by-street home insulation plan is particularly striking, cutting carbon emissions and helping residents make significant savings on their heating bills.
"I would urge communities across Scotland to look at what is happening in Comrie and to think about how they could follow suit. The people of Letham in Perth and Alyth in Strathmore are already gearing up for the insulation project to be rolled out in their areas.
"Here is a small town in Perthshire that has had the initiative to apply to the Climate Challenge Fund and work with a major power company.
"I would also commend Scottish and Southern Energy's foresight and can call upon them to build upon this success, and for other suppliers to consider how they could assist communities to reduce carbon emissions.
"I am looking forward to seeing this new partnership work across Scotland."
Patrick Harvie MSP of the Scottish Green Party said:
"Where Comrie leads, we believe the rest of Scotland will follow. Properly insulating our homes is the best way to tackle fuel poverty, improve health, and beat climate change all at the same time. In particular, this kind of comprehensive programme brings real benefits for the community, is far more cost efficient, and has a much better chance of delivering savings than narrowly targeted alternatives.
"We're also delighted to see Scottish and Southern Energy playing such a constructive role in this project. They realise that energy companies will have to help deal with the three key problems of climate change, fuel poverty and our dependence on fossil fuels, and I am confident they will play their part.
"There is much that government can do, but the secret with projects like the Climate Challenge Fund is to draw on and support good ideas from visionary communities like Comrie, to bring in appropriate partners, and to use those ideas to inspire others and bring about wider change."
Cathy Tilbrook, chair of Comrie Development Trust said:
"This project is a crucial part of our plans for Comrie Carbon Challenge. Not only will it reduce the village energy consumption, but it will cut people's fuel bills and provide additional employment for local contractors to carry out the as much of the energy savings works as possible. What more could you ask of a project!"
Ian Marchant, Chief Executive of Scottish and Southern Energy added:
"The twin challenges of climate change and energy security are without question the great challenges of our age, but there is much to be positive about.
"Energy efficiency is a vital way of making a difference and SSE is delighted to be working with the people of Comrie and other communities to deliver practical energy efficiency measures in a comprehensive way.
"I share the vision of Ministers that through supporting local communities to act, we could see lasting positive change that provides direct benefit to both people and the planet."
Councillor Alan Grant, Environment Convener for Perth and Kinross Council said:
"Reducing our carbon footprint both in terms of energy use and other environmental issues is an important aspect of helping to tackle climate change.
"I am pleased that the community in Comrie will be leading the way in looking at this issue and hope the project will pave the way for more communities to live a more energy-efficient and greener life."
Based on current estimates from the Energy Savings Trust the average household can expect to save £340 and reduce CO2 emissions by 1.5 tonnes a year by becoming more energy efficient. For Comrie, this amounts to potential savings of around £300,000 and 1350 tonnes of CO2.
The full remit of the Comrie Carbon Challenge is as follows:
Sustainable development of Cultybraggan Army Camp - 90 acres of land brought into community ownership in Sept 07 for:
- Ecological building construction methods
- Information events for local tradesmen and architects in eco construction
- Renewable energy sources for the site and village
- Local food production including allotments
- Food production programmes for local school children
- Homes and workspaces for local people and enterprises
- Biodiversity areas and woodland planting
- Footpath and cycle ways to the site
- Holding learning events in the village on all aspects of sustainable development
Wider village projects including:
- A street-by-street energy reduction/insulation project
- A village transport plan
- Work with the school, local businesses and local organisations
- Focus on personal responsibility (travel, energy use, shopping habits)
- Energy audits and renewable energy sources in homes and community buildings.
- Renewable energy schemes for our community buildings
- Community composting, wormeries and recycling
Promoting Best Practice
- Press launch of Comrie Carbon Challenge
- National conference for rural communities on carbon challenge
- Networking, advice and best practice for other Perthshire communities (including Alyth)
- Publication of regular advice notes, toolkits as the Comrie work develops to be circulated nationally
Measuring progress
Benchmarking our carbon footprint
Agreeing indicators for measuring our progress
Establishing our monitoring and evaluation system.
The Climate Challenge Fund amounts to a total of £27.4 million over three years (2008-2011).