Case studies

Warwick District Council have been awarded funding as part of a ‘Project Group’ programme to develop and deliver their rural community engagement programme. The first stage has seen them develop and deliver a training programme on community engagement practices with local community groups, key officers and Members. They are now in phase two of the programme, which will see them take this same programme and deliver it to rural communities.

Leeds City Council and its network partners Vital Energi have delivered a £49 million network of insulated underground pipes, supplying 15,400 megawatt-hours of heating last year, helping to reduce the city’s carbon footprint by more than 2,000 tonnes. The heat and hot water used in the system is produced from non-recyclable waste at the Recycling and Energy Recovery Facility (RERF), creating a reliable and affordable lower carbon alternative to traditional fossil fuel powered heating systems for connected buildings.

Ealing Council in West London are creating the conditions to develop a mass community cycling culture in Southall, by tackling the core underlying barriers to cycling and putting residents at the heart of any change. The Sport England funded project involves the giveaway of up to 2,500 bikes to residents, a wraparound training offer, friends to cycle with, daily led cycle rides for all abilities and a platform to create wider system and infrastructure development to sustain a new cycling culture.

The Cornwall Council Design Guide supports the Cornwall Local Plan, by offering a comprehensive guide to design quality in Cornwall. By providing clarity on what is expected from development in Cornwall, the Council is helping to inspire and guide the delivery of high-quality places to live, that respond positively to cross-cutting issues like climate change adaptation, nature recovery creating healthy environments and enhancing the distinctiveness of Cornwall.

Cornwall Council are using the Building with Nature (BwN) Standard Framework to inform the green infrastructure (GI) designs for Langarth Garden Village, creating a scheme that is on track to deliver positive outcomes for people and wildlife, and provide a demonstration of the Council’s strategic approach to placemaking and biodiversity gains for local stakeholders.

Manchester Climate Change Partnership (MCCP) is a cross-sectoral partnership of organisations that are engaged in helping the city become zero carbon and climate resilient. It includes representation from across the city’s communities and its private, public, health, faith, culture, sport, property, social housing, and academic sectors.

Councils that have declared a Climate Emergency may struggle to fund the measures needed to cut emissions in their area. Warrington Borough Council has piloted the use of community municipal bonds, a fundraising tool for local authorities, to fund renewable energy projects. Community municipal bonds allow councils to raise money directly from residents. In Warrington, the money raised has been used for low-carbon infrastructure, to speed up carbon emissions reductions and increase resilience to the pandemic.

Storms Desmond and Eva in late December 2015 led to record river levels in many river catchments, 453 properties and 174 businesses flooded in York. The Environment Agency and City of York Council were successful in attracting funding to renew existing and provide new flood defences. The York Five Year Plan was developed and detailed business cases and designs for schemes in 19 flood cells across the city have been delivered. An adaptive approach to flood resilience has been developed, work programmes to develop increased flood storage and the incentivised delivery of natural flood risk management measures have commenced.

Durham County Council (DCC) declared a climate emergency in 2019 and wanted to work with partners and local communities to lower air pollution and help residents save money on fuel costs. 30 per cent of emissions comes from road transport, and the council needed to support residents in making the switch to electric vehicles. DCC became part of a consortium, supported by Innovate UK to help those residents. DCC were granted funding to install 100 Electric Vehicle charge points in the Durham area.

Portsmouth City Council, as part of Solent Transport, have teamed up with Voi to promote their discounts available to those on low income, students and those serving their community. Voi have focused on making the shared e-scooter scheme in Portsmouth, which is funded by the Solent Future Transport Zone, and e-bike service elsewhere as accessible as possible to everyone.