PROJECTS

1

• PROJECTS
• suggested at the consultation meeting,
• 21st July 2009,
• Miners Welfare Hall, Cinderford

2
Insulation Roadshow (with renewables, demos) 12
votes

• A service going out to offer impartial reliable
  advice to householders in the forest with local
  knowledge especially about hard to treat
  houses. ? is poor takeup of insulation because
  of concern about quality of information ?
• Display models, open house demos, fact sheets,
  avoiding the cowboys...
• Training advice for professionals DIY
  projects
• Bulk buying clubs co-ops
• Ideas about sources of funding (loans grants) -
  ESCOs?ACTION
• ACTION
• Matt Lesley will offer their houses as demos
  solar, wood heating, pellet burning, insulation
• Eileen will write up the project for SWEA
• Anon will find out more about the windmill at the
  Pludds and photo-voltaics
• LAG alredy plans to get Five Acres to provide
  training
• Links to superInsulating Newent share expertise

3
Changing behaviours practical cultural 9.5
votes

• Need to convince general population to change
  talking to people helps
• They need to see the benefits for themselves
  their family
• The first step is the hardest, it needs to be the
  fashionable thing to do find the influencers eg
  Staycations
• Need a project to find out what kind of society
  people want easier to get there if you know
  where you want to go
• ACTIONS
• Transitions green social events, big, small, fun
  and frequent
• Transitions set up a PR group, use the local
  media
• Personal set a good example talk to people
  about it, contact Mps, councillors, etc etc
• LAG agrees but how to do it?

4
Awareness raising for coordination, admin etc
- 9 votes

• To do the work of Transition we could do with an
  office at least a part time administrator, and
  equipment like a projector screen we could
  then do a serious media job
• We really need more than 1 office to cover the
  area
• We need to train people to do presentations
  facilitate discussions, eg at schools
• People skills dont take them for granted
• ACTION An empty shop would make a good temporary
  home - Newent transition to discuss
• Do a project plan for this one

5
Training reskilling 8.5 votes

• Training trainers a course a good place to
  start
• Skill sharing gardening, preserving, cooking,
  make mend -informal groups (happens already in
  things like garden partners, and all the time in
  Newent)
• Lots of orgs in Forest already Hartpury, Five
  Acres, etc more in vol sector. Could use
  schools better as well
• Community shops / markets can help with
  signposting publicity
• Centre for low impact living low technology?
• There is LAG money for this
• ACTION LAG could fund venues, arrange
  signposting, do publicity
• Roger an audio documentary on conversations
  between generations
• Transition skill exchange day

6
Sustainable Wood Supplies eg coppicing 6.5 votes

• Encourage tree planting coppicing with Forestry
  Comm other landowners advice on planting,
  care etc multi-use trees eg fruit, forage as
  well as timber
• Sustainable wood businesses charcoal, furniture,
  crafts, fencing, green timber round timber
  usage in play areas, barns etc
• Talk to Forestry Comm to get of timber offered
  to local companies residents
• Better use of wood training issues
• ACTION Already of interest to SWRDA and LAG

7
Transport 6 votes

• Open up railway stations at Newnham Oakle St,
  park ride at Elton Highnam increase rush
  hour trains from Lydney to reduce traffic on
  A40/A48
• Small or post bus running round villages
• Get bus to stop at Lydney station (and others
  when open)
• 'Green thumb' assured hitching scheme using
  mobile phones
• Reduce speed limits? Reduce lorries? Cycle trails
  for work not leisure?
• Car clubs share costs, reduce usage
• Car sharing running but not huge
• ACTION Transition could run a write-in campaign
  to the County (who run transport)

8
Alloments land purchase 6 votes

• Compulsory purchase of developer's land-banks for
  allotments
• Council agreements/lease land from farmers
  other land owners
• Existing private arrangements either charging no
  rent or large ones
• Forest Allotments assn has no allotments but
  people busy with plans who could act as
  intermediary
• LAG could fund a post to follow up leads
• Needs more action at LAG

9
Community Biomass Heating 4.5 votes

• Mainly for new build? - No
• Can replace an existing central heating boiler
  with a wood pellet/wood chip boiler. Need dry
  storage space for fuel and a big hot water tank.
• Would need to find a group of interested
  participants in a village, finance a large boiler
  woodsupply to heat several homes together or
  even a combined heat power system using
  Forest wood
• Already a LAG project

10
Community Composting Dean CoCo 4.5 votes

• Link to growing projects (but Newent allotments
  send their rubbish to landfill!)
• Local champions project failed, green bins to
  stop... need something new it's essential to
  improve eco footprint in so many ways (sequesters
  CO2, replenishes soil fertility, encourages
  biodiversity, energy saving, waste management...)
• ACTION put on hold pending new ideas?

11
Eco Village A Vision of the Forest of the
Future 4 votes

• The forest is potentially an ideal setting for
  how sustainable communities of the future might
  be forest, farmland, homes
• Three stage plan
• Media project with prizes for best vision
• Pilot village to demonstrate in practice
• Replication across the Forest elsewhere
• Action John S to discuss with LAG officials,
  Jacky S to seek volunteers for action group. LAG
  funding?

12
Mini-holdings very small holding 4 votes

• Needs support groups, to arrange labour swaps,
  equipment sharing, marketing, seed swaps,
  livestock exchanges
• Planning rules not helping, need to be able to
  live on site
• Landshare scheme encourage large landowners to
  lease land in small parcels (for significant
  periods!)
• Needs more support at LAG

13
Tidal Energy Research, Micro Hydro 3 votes

• Local geography makes this viable Forest could
  be a centre of excellence knowledge.
• Already at least 4 projects Dean Heritage,
  Angiddy, Harts Barn, Parkend stonecutters so
  get them together run an event, invite
  suppliers to exhibition
• Could work efficiently with ground-source heating
  group projects, community owned resource
• Non-starter at LAG, must try harder

14
Mapping the big picture What's going on, where
are the resources, where are the problems 2.5
votes

• Almost impossible to get it all in one place
  Wiki2 could help
• Need a university of transition in the Forest
• Need to find out where things are coming from as
  well as where they are going to explore
  beginnings as well as ends and means
• Awareness on 4 fronts The negatives, community
  building (relationships, people), projects about
  sustainability, personal transformation and
  engagement
• This is a LAG requirement they need the
  baseline information and lots of it is missing
• ACTION get a small group of experts together to
  start the thinking

15
Local markets food, services, crafts 2 votes

• Have existing group (Country Markets) is money
  needed?
• Boast about buying local
• Village stores markets
• Community shop in Coleford negotiations pending
  we need to write a plan, LAG could pay the
  rent?
• Not specifically in LAG plan

16
Local Currencies 2 votes

• Lewes has working local currency helping over 100
  businesses
• There is a time banking scheme in the County that
  isnt very active at the moment attractive to
  county council because it can help provide social
  care services
• The test would Tesco's trade with local
  currency? (hope not!)
• We have a project to create launch a new type
  of currency combining the best aspects of
  complementary currencies, called a ROC (Robust
  Currency system) supported by Bernard Lietaer.
• Lots of potential here money is energy
• It would develop the local economy
• Not on the economic plan at the moment