Stroud Mayor John Marjoram commended the charity for all the work it is doing in the local community and the community links it is forging. Receiving the award, Debbie talked about the work being done to alleviate fuel poverty via the Briquette Project, the Draught-Busters group and the success of the Winter Fuel Payment Donation Appeal which has raised over £6,000 so far.

Stroud Town's Community Award

Dursley Town Hall, 12th May from 09:00

Future Now will put young people, schools and colleges at the hub of building sustainable communities in the Stroud District. We want to find out more about your views to make sure the project is focused where needs are greatest.

A number of organisations, private, social and public will be working together over the next two months to establish what they will do to meet those needs. We will be submitting our plans to the Big Lottery in June, and will find out if we have been successful in winning a grant for £1million at the end of August. Thank you for your time in supporting our bid.

Please come along to one of the public consultations.

You can download a copy of the latest edition for Spring 2012 by clicking on the attached file.

wuw newsletter 2012

Speakers included county councillor Brian Oostyhusen, Kaye Welfare from the Severn Wye Energy Agency and Stroud MP Neil Carmichael (MP) who gave details of the government’s forthcoming Green Deal.

The meeting heard that due to rising fuel costs and stagnant incomes, over 15% of households in the Stroud District are in fuel poverty.

Keynote speaker Dr Brenda Boardman MBE (left), from Oxford University, told the meeting that the key to tackling fuel poverty was to improve the fuel efficiency of the UK’s 26 million homes.

“If we’re going to eradicate fuel poverty by 2016 we’ve got to get on with it,” she said. “One way this could be done, is to identify one low-carbon zone per local authority where the fuel poor are concentrated.”

“We should tackle every home in that area with the necessary insulation and fuel efficiency measures to take it out of fuel poverty. If you do it street-by-street, you get economies of scale and can bring-in community solutions such as combined heat and power or anaerobic digestion.”

Before the public meeting, Dr Boardman visited the Uplands Care Service (above) to officially launch our £10,000 charity appeal to help vulnerable households in Gloucestershire stay warm this winter.

Every pensioner in the country is receiving the government’s Winter Fuel Allowance of at least £200. However it is estimated that only one in four actually needs the money to keep warm. We are asking those who do not need the money, to donate all or part of it to help others.

More details can be found online at www.donateyourfuelallowance.com

The Uplands Care Service is one of four groups being supported by the appeal. Care and Repair (Stroud), Wood U Waste’s Briquette Project and the Acorn Day Care Centre are the other three to benefit.

The programme explores the complex issues surrounding fuel poverty and its links with the climate change agenda. It uncovers some of the key problems and offers some solutions, including ambitious plans for a project in Stroud.

We hear from Dr Brenda Boardman, one of the UK’s leading experts on the subject, Stroud Conservative MP Neil Carmichael, Debbie Hewitt and Andy Treacher from Wood U Waste, Kay Welfare from the Severn Wye Energy Agency and Rodborough county councillor Brian Oosthuysen.

You can listen again to the show or download it as a podcast here

Neil enjoys a warm welcome

An elderly couple from Cambridge invited their MP in for tea and cake in a bid to highlight the difficulties faced by many local families experiencing rising fuel bills.

Ruth and Bev Coopey rely on a solid fuel Parkray for all of their heating and hot water needs in the cottage where they’ve lived for five decades.

Mr Coopey, who has just celebrated his 80th birthday, still manages to stoke their Parkray each morning. Last June the couple paid £950 for a supply of anthracite coal which they hope will last them through the winter. 

Hundreds of homes in the Stroud District are still off the gas mains and rely on expensive solid fuel or oil for heating.

As part of Warm Homes Campaign, MPs across the UK have been visiting constituents to experience the problems householders face trying to heat their homes. Organised by fuel poverty charity National Energy Action (NEA), the campaign highlights the benefits of energy efficiency improvements for people on low incomes, and promotes grant aid.

Stroud MP Neil Carmichael (pictured right) was also able to see how a local community project helps Mr and Mrs Coopey to stay warm when he joined them for afternoon tea and cake in front of the fire.

This winter the couple will be among dozens of elderly and vulnerable families across the district to receive supplies of wooden briquettes from Stroud-based community project Wood U Waste. Made from recycled sawdust by prisoners at Leyhill, the briquettes are an excellent supplementary fuel for all wood burners and open fires, helping to get the fire started and keeping it burning for longer.

“We are delighted that the Coopeys find the briquettes so useful”, said Debbie Hewitt from Wood U Waste (pictured left). ‘”They keep their Parkray ticking over during the night, reducing the amount of anthracite used and thus saving them money.”

The briquettes are great value at £3 per 5 kg pack and are available from various local outlets. For more details visit www.wooduwaste.com.

Following the visit, Mr Carmichael commented: “I would like to thank Mr and Mrs Coopey for their very generous hospitality and I can see the difficulties they face not only in terms of the type of heating they have but also the expense of running it. The briquette project is an excellent example of a community based project helping local people.”

Jenny Saunders, Chief Executive at NEA said: “The most important message this year is that there is help out there for vulnerable households. I urge everyone to contact the Home Heat Helpline on 0800 33 66 99 to get help and advice on staying warm in their home this winter without the fear of fuel debt and ill health.”