Workshop 15 February
2014: What Next?
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Present:
Andrew M, Andy O’B, Nick, Judith, Bob D, Brett,
Felicity, Barbara, Paula, Maggie, Margaret P, Alan P, Linda
This was a planning workshop to look at ideas for
the next
12 months+.
Potential Projects
We considered the list of former suggestions for
projects
and also some new ideas:
- Community energy generation – helping community
buildings become more energy efficient and/or install renewable
generation.
- Energy Switching – setting up a bulk
purchase
agreement with a renewable electricity supplier.
- Converging World energy plan – S Glos is
funding
2-3 days consultancy with Converging World to draw up a local energy
plan
- Bristol Pound – promote, and/or maybe
start a
Thornbury pound
- Revitalising Thornbury’s Saturday Market
- Following up Green Open Doors event
- Zero
Carbon Britain
- Fracking
– follow up Ian Page talk
- Energy Shop – like Wadebridge shop,
selling
energy products, offering advice, etc
We split into 3 tables and considered those items
which
interested/inspired people on the table.
The discussions threw up the
following preferred potential projects:
- Energy Shop
- Energy Switching
- Local loyalty cards
- Zero Carbon Thornbury
- Bristol Green Capital 2015
- Revitalise Saturday market
- Bristol Energy co-op investment in Thornbury
projects
- Happy City Initiatives
We looked at what criteria we would judge the
potential
projects by and agreed:
Criteria
- Must
create a positive image
- Must engage us / engage others
- Consider number of volunteers needed
- Cash cost
- Timescale:
short term, medium term, long term
- Impact
– support for our values and aims
- Potential
for working with other groups
The three tables chose which projects interested
them and
looked at them in the light of the criteria. The following represents
the
thoughts of the 3 groups (amalgamated)
a. Energy Shop (2 Groups)
- Providing
advice/help on for example energy
saving, switching, energy generation
- Being a networking centre
- Being a presence for ST in centre of Thornbury
if based at a shop in town – seen as a helpful, welcoming place. A place for listening with not too much
talking
- Need
to establish cost of premises in Thornbury
- Potential to be coffee shop also – draw
people
in with food
- Get Schools involved? Pupils to help in shop?
- Could be a contribution to the inspiring Happy Cities initiative?
- Potential
for it to be a ‘mobile’ shop which
could go around the villages also – this might increase the
chance of
funding/grant aid etc
- Great
potential to work with partners such as
Age UK, Krunch, especially if there are
a range of advice sectors in the shop
- A big project & needs to start small,
although partnerships with others can help get it off the ground
- Need a ‘shop’ group to look at
feasibility
- Visit Wadebridge & other examples?
- Engagement – us/public. Should we have
one
focus?
- Need to employ a manager with a passion +
volunteers
- Need
training
- Members of churches?
- Local crafters
- Cash/cost – needs funding for set up
(grants),
need to establish costs, what’s possible/permissible?
- Timescale:
slow build up – long term
- Potential issues – lack of focus to
project
See Below Vision of working of the Energy Shop
b.Local Loyalty Card
- Project would be to act as a catalyst to develop
a local loyalty card for use by traders in Thornbury & surrounding
villages
to encourage shopping at local traders. We did some work on this in
2006 but
could not then get interest from traders to pursue.
We think the atmosphere has changed now
because of current work by Chamber of Commerce eg First Tuesday and the Use Us or Lose Us campaign.
- Impact
would be:
- o
Retaining economic resources
locally
- o
Reducing travel
- o
Increasing community links
- Have ready made contacts in Chamber of Commerce
& Use us leader. Can establish likely engagement before too much
work
undertaken.
- Public are used to concept as so many coffee
shops offer loyalty card benefits
- ST’s involvement would be research &
promotion/publicity. Therefore short term (within the year probably).
The
scheme would be run by traders eventually.
- Investigate
other schemes & provide details
– could be joint working group with COC/Use us.
- A useful piece of work could be done through a
survey of what goods/services people travel away from the area to
obtain. We
could then do a gap analysis and identify where there are potential
areas for
new local businesses. This could be a bigger piece of work which might
attract
grant / other funding & be done professionally.
c. Revitalising Thornbury’s Saturday Market
- Retaining economic resources locally
- Reducing travel
- Increasing community links
- Likely to involve regular road closure eg High
St, with the difficulties/costs involved
- Have to work with several organisations: Town
Council who have license for Market, Peer Group for Farmer’s
market, Chamber of
Commerce for Food Fairs – all of whom have different agendas
which may or may
not coincide. Likely to be tricky to
undertake.
- Issue
of how to get more traders on a Saturday
(seen as the best day to get many people to shop) – would require
a great deal
of research / persuasion to get traders to attend what is currently an
insignificant market.
- Unless
goods are markedly different to those in
local shops, potentially taking away custom from other local traders.
- Unclear
as to likely outcome after considerable
work
Potential for Local Energy Generation
Each group considered the potential for any local
energy
generation in our area. The amalgamated list:
-
Micro-hydro at the old mill site
behind the
Anchor Pub
- Berkeley Estate old flour mill – was a
working
watermill until a couple of years ago. Currently not in use.
- Wind Turbine at Marlwood School
- Solar
panels on community buildings
- Chantry roof?
- Car parks
- House roofs
- Heating
from water/air/ground
- Solar panels on industrial buildings
- Lots
of micro-hydro – using same water again.
- More smaller windmills eg Almondsbury sports
club
Other Issues
Fracking
Comments on Ian’s recent talk &
consideration of how to
progress:
- Content
good & enlightening
- Conclusion (economically unviable) was
surprising & raised some issues
- Barbara had written to Steve Webb & had a
‘share your concern’ response including the government line
on there won’t be a
problem because it will be overseen.
- Decided to progress the idea of Ian speaking to
a wider, invited audience – bearing in mind Ian’s
reluctance to have a public
meeting with all the publicity involved.
Would need to be a Friday if MP to be invited. Need to check
with Ian
about invitees etc. Ideas of people to
invite:
- Steve Webb
- Local councillors
- Local FOE group, Green Peace, Green Party, Linda
- Local churches environmental groups
- Local
businesses
- Water companies
- Concerned that South Glos Council does not
appear to have a policy on fracking – need to raise the issue
- Potential to watch the film being shown around
Somerset at present
-
Link with Extreme Energy campaigners
Speakers
Ideas for topics/speakers for coming Wednesday
evenings:
-
Setting up a shop/Chamber of
Commerce
- Happy Cities
- Ian
Ferguson – climate change & extreme
weather events
- Alveston weather station enthusiast
- Grandparents for a Safe Earth – on direct action
against banks & investment in fossil fuels (info Barbara)
- Green Investment – Triodos, local
academics?
- Ecotricity or Good Energy
- Beacon Lane Starter Farm
- Tony
Crofts from Quaker Group – buying land
& developing it sustainably/other projects (info Maggie
Next Steps
- Margaret
to type up and circulate notes
- All to consider potential projects so that we
can discuss, agree and plan which to take forward at our next meeting
on
February 26th
- Felicity to share with Town Council Environment
group current thinking about potential projects & take soundings
