Could you get help to insulate your home?

If your home has an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D to G, and if you are in council tax band A-D (in England) you may qualify for cheaper (or even free) insulation.

The government has launched a £1 billion ‘Great British Insulation Scheme’ to help some families insulate their homes.

Families in lower council tax bands with less energy-efficient homes will be offered upgrades such as roof, loft or cavity wall insulation.

You can use an online checker for the Great British Insulation Scheme to find out if you are eligible. The tool will ask a series of questions – including how you heat your home, whether your home has solid or cavity walls, and if you are receiving any benefits.

You can be a homeowner, landlord or tenant (either renting privately or from a housing association). If you’re a tenant, speak to your landlord before you apply. You’ll need their permission before any insulation can be installed.

A separate online checker has also been launched for the Home Upgrade Grant, which will help people in off-gas-grid homes with an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D to G. The grant provides energy efficiency upgrades and low carbon heating to households in England.

If you use the online checkers you will then be referred to either your energy supplier, for support from the Energy Company Obligation programme and Great British Insulation Scheme, or your council for the Home Upgrade Grant.

Sustainable Farming Incentive 2023 fund to accept applications from next week

Rodney Burton / Grunty Fen Farm, Wilburton, Cambs / CC BY-SA 2.0

On 26 August the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) announced that farmers can sign up for the Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) from 18 September.

The SFI pays farmers for taking actions that support food production, farm productivity and resilience, whilst protecting the environment.

Pre-registration ensures farmers are supported to have all necessary information in place, so they are ready for when the scheme starts to accept applications from 18 September.

Free advice to help small businesses cut energy costs—just two sessions left

Small business in Cambridgeshire? Concerned about your energy use? Don’t miss out on your FREE low carbon business support this July.

This is your final opportunity to take advantage of this invaluable programme with expert guidance, hints and tips. Whether you’re looking to reduce your carbon footprint, increase energy efficiency, or explore new green technologies and practices, this programme is designed to help you.

Over the two days you will learn how to start your own low carbon journey, measure and monitor how your business can cut carbon, how to carry out a basic energy assessment, how to measure your business’s carbon footprint and take steps to reduce it, and learn about low energy technologies that could reduce energy use and cut costs.

Cambridgeshire County Council is currently delivering this Low Carbon Business Support programme in partnership with Deyton Bell & PECT (Peterborough Environment City Trust). The final sessions are on Tuesday 4 and Thursday 6 July at ‘New Shire Hall’, the County Council’s HQ at Alconbury Weald.

  • “This is a really overwhelming subject matter particularly at the start of the journey however the trainers have removed the fear and replaced it with fun” Lisa Mawditt
  • “This session provided a very useful introduction to a relatively new subject for me, there were lots of useful take aways and practical tools which will help us on this journey” Oli Bachini

This programme has been made possible by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) for the St Ives Park & Ride Smart Energy Grid project. More information about the project and the programme can be found at 

Apply online at https://lowcarbon.deytonbell.com/

Work set to begin tomorrow on damaged phone mast at Haddenham

Image: Rodney Burton / Water tower, Haddenham, Cambs / CC BY-SA 2.0

Work is set to begin tomorrow (Thursday 8 June) to restore the phone mast on the water tower at Haddenham. The reinstatement is expected to be complete and operational on Thursday 22 June.

Many residents of Haddenham, Sutton and surrounding villages have been without mobile phone signal since early May following damage to the tower which hosts the mast.

Before the recent bank holiday two new microwave links were installed adjacent to the damaged water tower to provide some connectivity, with all connections having to be re-laid. The main site however still needs to be reinstated with the full complement of technology, and Wireless Infrastructure Group has been instructed to proceed with the works.

This has been a very challenging site as the main structure, where all the equipment was installed, was severely damaged and needed to be repaired prior to the completion of the remaining technology installation.

Battery storage proposal for Littleport

SSE Renewables, in conjunction with the landowner, are proposing to construct and operate a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) and associated infrastructure on land at Martins Farm, Littleport CB6 1EJ.

Construction and operational access to the site will be taken from Crouchmoor Drove, off Hale Drove. The associated equipment comprises:

  • ​Battery Storage Units
  • Transformer Substation
  • Water Storage Tanks
  • Site Fencing, Access Gate and CCTV
  • Landscape Mitigation and Hedgerow Planting/Enhancement
  • Acoustic Fencing and Mitigation (if necessary).

A public consultation event is scheduled for Tuesday 27 June 2023 at Littleport Leisure Centre, Camel Road, Littleport CB6 1EW. The event will start at 15:00 and conclude at 19:30. The event is open to the public, and you do not need to register in advance.

More information about the proposal, and the consultation event, at https://www.southerybess.co.uk/

Help our Fire Service plan for the future

Residents and business owners are being encouraged to give their views to help shape Cambridgeshire Fire & Rescue Service’s plan for the next five years.

The service has launched a consultation which is available in the Consultation section of the Fire Service website, and which is open until the end of July.

More information on the Fire Service’s Community Risk Management Plan at https://www.cambsfire.gov.uk/news-and-incidents/news/2023/06/2023-06-06-help-shape-the-future-of-your-local-fire-and-rescue-service

Path from Stimpson Street to The Orchards on the way

Path between Stimpson Street and The Orchards (photo by resident)

Following a message from a resident, Mark and I have both been pursuing the completion of the path from Stimpson Street—on the Vistry development at the top of Mepal Road—to the top of The Orchards.

The path is a requirement of the planning approval given to Vistry for the development, but it has still not been finished.

Vistry told Mark:

“Initially, we held off completing the full extent of the permanent footpath works as we need to put in a new foul sewer within this location to serve Phase 2. However, this work has been delayed due a number of reasons. Therefore, our engineers are now looking at either realigning the sewer connection so that we can fully construct the permanent footpath, or if not, we put in a safer temporary surface in the interim.”

And a member of East Cambridgeshire District Council (ECDC)’s planning enforcement team told Lorna:

“I understand that the installation of the footpath involves works on land owned by ECDC and therefore before I contact the developer, I am awaiting confirmation from the relevant ECDC departments that all necessary agreements are in place for the works to proceed.”

Elean power station update

Mark and I joined the biannual Community Liaison meeting today organised by the team at the Elean power station in Sutton.

EPR Ely, the straw-fired biomass power station on the Elean Business Park, will start its annual two-week shut-down on Sunday 2 July. In the middle of that day they will be carrying out their usual explosive cleaning, so be prepared for some loud noises. This used to take place at night, but in recent years the firm has responded to community concerns and moved to a daytime schedule for this operation.

The company operating the plant has been rebranded Melton, and is actually owned by Octopus Energy.

They’re looking to extend their works car park, and have recently installed some EV charge points. They will be recruiting more operational staff, and also continuing to seek local apprentices from time to time.