Lune Valley Community Land Trust, which was set up last year to create sustainable, affordable homes for people with connections to the local area, has a plan to build 20 new houses in Halton-with-Aughton. The homes will be built in a partnership with South Lakes Housing Association.
The rental and shared ownership homes are planned to be 100% powered by community-owned renewable energy schemes, but more work needs to be done to assess the cost and practicality of this before building starts.
To help with this, the not-for-profit group has now been handed a £10,000 grant from Electricity North West’s Empowering our Communities scheme to investigate the feasibility of the electrical supply options for the project.
It is hoped a private wire will be able to carry electricity from the adjacent Lancaster Cohousing development, which is Powered by solar panels and the Halton Lune community-owned hydroelectric scheme on the river Lune.
They currently generate an excess of electricity, some of which is exported to the National Grid.
The idea is that the private wire could be extended, so the surplus electricity can be used to power the proposed new homes instead.
If the study shows this option is feasible, then it will be included in the scheme details which are to be tendered this summer. A planning application will be submitted later in the year.
Steve Wrigley, a director of Lune Valley Community Land Trust, said: “This project will help to meet a real shortage of affordable homes for local people in this area”.
“These all-electric homes won’t be connected directly to the national grid or have a gas supply. They will be highly energy efficient, with very low energy bills”.
“The private wire link could supply them with low cost renewable energy, while also supporting the community energy groups that generate the power.”
Separately, Halton Senior Cohousing is planning to build a further 20 homes, reserved for people aged over 55, on the adjacent site. This study will look at the feasibility of connecting both schemes to the private wire.
Helen Seagrave, community energy manager at Electricity North West, added: “The Trust has some really exciting, innovative plans for energy efficient housing in the heart of the community and I hope this funding will help to make them a reality”.
“Our Empowering our Communities Fund takes applications from community groups across the north west who aim to tackle energy-related issues at a local level, especially those that want to reduce their carbon footprint. Groups can apply for up to £15,000 for projects that engage local communities in energy issues and support the development of a community energy project.
The fund will be re-opening later this year so keep an eye out on the website for more information.”
Electricity North West is calling for those living or working in the region to have their say on its plans as part of its biggest ever customer engagement programme. Anybody interested in getting involved can visit www.pluggingin.co.uk for more details.
