Midsummer and a far cry from the dark days of a northern winter. So maybe not the best time to think about energy and energy savings.
When we heard about community and energy we began to sit up from our sun loungers( only joking!) and start thinking about how communities in all shapes and sizes can take more control over their energy sources and become more efficient.
There are many benefits, the most obvious being coming together as a group to make savings and to use the knowledge and skills of many people to benefit the whole community.
There are now moves to work with, for examples, Parish Councils to engage with their community and become the mover of a community energy project. The team at Community Pathways have a great source of documents to support and develop the projects.
In our partnership, we work with people and community organisations to deliver benefits to the communities and the agencies that support them.
We see the potential impact of these projects in a number of ways; using volunteers, bringing together expertise in skills and knowledge, using local business and groups, working with people across age groups and across family involvements.
There is nothing like making a saving to ensure that people will become active. And this way it can be the community that will be the real winner.
Sue Martin FRSA- SmithMartin Partnership LLP