Council partnership ofers discounted solar panel water heating

A PARTNERSHIP has been formed between West Somerset Council, Climate Energy, and Eco-Exmoor to ensure that providing homes with hot water will not cost the earth.
The partnership is offering grants of up to £900 toward the costs of installing domestic solar hot water systems.
The scheme aims to benefit the environment by harnessing the sun’s rays for domestic hot water, and to bring down fuel bills for homeowners in West Somerset.
A council spokesman said, “As a council, one of our corporate priorities is to protect the environment for future generations.
“This grant funding is available to all local homeowners, regardless of income.
“Applicants are not means tested and we are encouraging people to apply now, so that they can reap the rewards this summer.
“We are currently living through times of erratic fuel supplies and solar panels reduce our dependency on foreign fuel providers.
“It also keeps money in the local economy.
“We would like to run this scheme again in future, so we need this year’s grants to be used to demonstrate a need for more funding.”
The partnership can provide £500 toward the installation costs and can potentially attract a further £400 from the Department of Trade and Industry’s low carbon building programme which, when combined, can reduce the overall price by 35 per cent.
One resident, Roger Thomas, of Alcombe, who has had solar panels fitted by Eco-Exmoor under the scheme, said: “I only had the system installed in December and it is already working and heating water in the boiler.
“Previously, I saw my gas bill going up and up and I thought it was just getting silly.
“I reckon that with the panels, I will be making real savings from the end of March until the end of October.”
Andy Barrett, from Eco Exmoor, said: “Our systems use the highest quality components and they are guaranteed for 10 years by an independent underwriter.
“All of our installers are accredited, vetted, and monitored, so our customers can have full peace of mind.
“Domestic solar hot water is an excellent way in which householders can help protect the environment while saving money.
“Households can slash their carbon emissions by three-quarters of a ton every year, as well as reduce our dependency on fossil fuels.
“It is an excellent alternative for householders who live in areas that are not on mains gas.”
More information on the scheme is available by calling free on 0800 0966356 or visiting http://www.eco-exmoor.com/.

• Our photograph shows Andy Barrett (left) and Roger Thomas outside a property fitted with solar panels. Photo submitted.

Council offers cash to put empty homes back into use

GRANTS of up to £10,000 are being offered by West Somerset Council so empty homes in the district can be restored to use.
The council may also be able to help owners of idle commercial buildings, flats, or empty storage areas above shops where there is potential for conversion to a dwelling.
Residents are being encouraged to report homes which have been empty for six months or more to allow the council to contact owners and look at putting the properties to good use.
The council’s housing portfolio holder, Councillor Kate Kravis, said: “Despite the effect of the current economic climate on the housing market, there is still a chronic shortage of affordable homes to rent and buy in West Somerset.
“We can help owners of properties who are struggling to bring homes up to the decent homes standard, or who have inherited the property but do not live in the area and are worried about managing the property.”
As well as funding grants of up to £10,000 for empty homes to be restored to use, the council can also help owners lease their homes to people looking for affordable housing to rent.
Advice and support is available on selling properties to local housing associations so that they can be let to local people.
Grants worth up to £5,000 may also be available to owner-occupiers who cannot currently live in homes because they do not meet the decent homes standards.
Councillor Kravis said: “Members of the public can play their part by advising us of properties that are vacant.
“We can then contact the owners and try to bring the homes back into use for local people.”
Grants are not available for second homes which are vacant for long periods during the year.
Anybody wishing to report empty homes in West Somerset should call 01643 703704, or email customerservices@westsomerset.gov.uk.

New Year deadline for next round of local arts grants

ARTLife, the arts agency for West Somerset, has grants of up to £1,000 to give away to community groups which undertake creative projects and events.
The activities must happen in West Somerset, or benefit the residents of the district, and must be accessible to the public and help contribute to the ongoing development of the arts in the area.
Recent grant awards have supported local students who wanted to make a film of their trip to Poland, concerts by international musicians at Halsway Manor, Watchet Kids Festival, and Stogursey Youth Club members working with a professional film maker and musician.
The funding application process has made as simple as possible, with help on hand to complete the form.
The next deadline for applications is January 12, and anybody with an idea for a project should contact ARTlife on 01984 635300 or email info@artlife-somerset.co.uk.
ARTlife is a consortium of nine member organisations, all of which have an interest in or remit to deliver arts and cultural activity in West Somerset.
It delivers an arts service in partnership with West Somerset Council.

£1 million community fund-raising challenge launches in college gardens

A CHARITABLE fund which aims to raise £1 million across Somerset by 2011 was launched at a reception in Cannington yesterday.
The Grassroots Grants Endowment Match Challenge is being organised by the Somerset Community Foundation, a Wells-based project set up in 2002 to provide a new, independent funding body to tackle poverty and disadvantage throughout the county.
Foundation director Justin Sargent said: “Our target is to raise £1 million over the next three years, which would attract an additional £500,000 from the Government.
“This is a unique opportunity for us all to build a major endowment fund for Somerset.
“It will provide much-needed long-term support to hundreds of local projects and initiatives that make such a difference to the lives of so many people.”
Clifford Hall, in Cannington College, was one of three venues across Somerset to host launch events for the effort to build a long-term community asset.
Mr Sargent said: “The events were enjoyed by all and a special thank you to those groups who helped to make the events a great success.”
More than 50 guests from the local area attended the Cannington event, including West Somerset MP Ian Liddell-Grainger and the West Somerset Business Network chairman, Sandra Wilson, from Dulverton.
They heard a talk by the college’s head gardener and were also shown around the college’s walled gardens.
Among the groups attending the Cannington reception was ALFFFA, a voluntary group providing Filipino and multi-cultural programmes and information to the community in the form of dance, song, music, food.
Also represented was the Sedgemoor Deanery Youth Project, which aims to care for and challenge young people, encouraging them to reach their full potential.
The local branch of Ups and Downs, a support group for parents and carers of children with Downs Syndrome, also took part. The charity provides face to face support, information and resources to help children reach their full potential both educationally and socially.
Mr Sargent said: “We are a unique charity in two respects. We are able to support a wide range of charitable causes across Somerset, which means we can respond to the specific and changing needs of each community, and we provide a flexible, professional and personal ‘donor service’ to a wide range of donors, enabling them to achieve their specific charitable goals within Somerset.
“At the heart of our approach is a strong belief in the importance of helping communities respond to their local circumstances in their own way.”

• Our photograph shows some of the representatives who attended the launch of the foundation’s Grassroots Grants Endowment Match Challenge held in Cannington College. Photo submitted.

£180,000 of sustainable grants available for Exmoor projects

The Exmoor Sustainable Development Fund is again open for business and a meeting on Thursday, March 27, of the independent grant advisory panel will consider 11 new proposals.
The panel, comprised of people who live and work across Exmoor and the surrounding area, will meet with the project applicants at Withypool Village Hall.
The projects being considered encompass a wide range of issues, from renewable energy installations and a strategy for making Exmoor National Park carbon neutral by 2016, to assessing the genetics of salmon in the River Exe, to support for the production and supply of local food.
Other applications cover community events and facilities as well as ecological research and education.
Further details of the applications and the meeting are available on www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or from local libraries in the Exmoor area.
The fund is administered by the national park authority with the funding provided by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
Each year, £180,000 is available for projects which show innovation in addressing sustainable development within and around Exmoor National Park.
Since being launched in 2002, more than 130 projects have received SDF funds and have made Exmoor a more sustainable place to live in, work in, visit, and enjoy.
In December of last year, Defra announced that funding would be available for at least a further three years.
“Since reopening for applications we have been inundated with expressions of interest and applications, totalling over £627,000,” said Phil Cookson, the park authority’s sustainability and economy manager.
“In the past five years more than £1.1m has been spent improving Exmoor and people’s knowledge and pleasure and I wish these new projects the same successes.”
Dan James, who is succeeding Mr Cookson, said: “This is great news for Exmoor and reflects the pro-active nature of communities within and around the park in working towards a sustainable future for Exmoor.
“It also means that the panel members will have much debate when advising the national park authority on prioritising the limited funds.”
The authority continues to welcome expressions of interest from anyone with an innovative idea which will further the twin national park purposes of ‘conservation and enhancement of Exmoor’s special qualities’ and ‘public enjoyment and understanding of those special qualities’ in a sustainable manner.
Funding of between 50 per cent and 75 per cent of project costs can usually be considered.
For further details visit www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk or contact Dan James on 01398 322234 or by emailing dtjames@exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk.

Grant scheme aids homeowners on low incomes

HOMEOWNERS in West Somerset who need essential home improvements but who are on low incomes and/or benefits are being urged to apply for low-cost loans from a district council-backed scheme.
The scheme’s interest rate is fixed at three per cent, and monthly repayments are low and will not rise for the entire lifetime of the loan.
West Somerset Council’s health and well-being portfolio holder, Councillor Kate Kravis, said: “Homeowners of all ages can borrow up to £15,000 for essential home improvements, and all applications are treated in confidence.
“The cost of borrowing is far less than you will find from high street lenders and I cannot recommend the scheme highly enough.
“Projects we can consider include repairs to leaky roofs, replacing boilers and radiators, installing central heating, replacing rotten windows or doors, and updating bathrooms or kitchens over 20 years old.
“In fact, we will consider any improvements that help local homes meet the decent homes standard.”
Trustworthy, experienced advisers ensure that homeowners receive the right financial package for their circumstances.
Council environmental health manager Ian Timms said: “The adviser will support applicants throughout the whole application process and the council will inspect the work to make sure it has been completed to a good standard.
“We work with the Wessex Reinvestment Trust, who co-ordinate the scheme and remove as much of the worry as possible from applicants.
“We have invested funds to offer people this great opportunity to improve their homes, and we sincerely hope they will make use of it.”
For more information, contact Julie Payne at West Somerset Council on 01643 703704 or log on to the Wessex Home Improvement Loans website at www.wessexrt.co.uk.

New Year 'WISH' from council for warmer homes in 2008

WEST Somerset Council is ‘WISHing’ residents a warm, happy, and healthy New Year by supporting a free scheme to help local people over the age of 60 stay warm and well, and financially independent.
The council is backing Warmer Improved Somerset Homes (WISH), which helps people with the process of applying for grants to improve their homes and ensures any work is undertaken by trusted local traders.
Samples of the work are also inspected by the WISH team to make sure it has been completed to a good standard.
The council’s health and well-being portfolio holder, Councillor Kate Kravis, said: “Homeowners and privately renting tenants over 60 years of age may be able to get help with insulation, heating systems, household repairs, and adaptations to their homes to make their lives easier.
“This is a great scheme and I hope people will use this free, confidential service to find out exactly what they are entitled to, and what help is available.
“All homeowners over the age of 70 are eligible for free cavity wall or loft insulation.
“Our friendly team of specialist advisers can also help with sound advice on benefits.”
People who are not entitled to free help may still find they are eligible for grants, or a substantial discount.
WISH is run jointly by the Bristol and Somerset Energy Efficiency Advice Centre and the Somerset Coast Home Improvement Agency (SCHIP), which is supported by West Somerset Council and Sedgemoor District Council and funded by the Big Lottery Fund.
More information is available by calling the WISH team free on 0800 512 012.

Grants available to put empty homes back into housing market

RESIDENTS in West Somerset are being asked to keep an eye open for any homes which appear not to be lived in.
West Somerset Council has dedicated December to encouraging people to report homes which have been empty for six months or more.
The council can help owners bring such properties back into use so they can be leased to local people.
The council’s housing portfolio holder, Councillor Peter Humber, said: “West Somerset has a real shortage of affordable homes to rent and we have grants available to help bring houses onto the market.
“We have recently brought one home back into use and a further eight have schedules of work planned, but we have the capacity to bring more back into use with local people’s help.
“Sometimes, homes are inherited and have new owners who are not in the area, or they have fallen into disrepair because owners either do not have the interest or money to bring them up to a decent standard.
“Owners of redundant commercial buildings can also be helped where there is potential to convert buildings into dwellings for local people.”
The council is offering grants of up to £10,000 to bring empty homes up to the Government’s decent homes standard.
It can also help owners lease properties to people nominated from housing waiting lists or to sell them to local housing associations so they can be let.
Grants of up to £5,000 are available to owner-occupiers who cannot currently live in homes because they do not meet the decent homes standard.
Council environmental health manager Ian Timms said: “If the public knows of empty houses in their area, they can contact the council in confidence and we will track down the owners and do our best to get the house back into use.
“Even derelict properties can be returned to use, so we would encourage anybody who knows of an empty property to contact us.”
Grants are not available for second homes which may stand empty for many months.
Anybody who wants to report an empty home in West Somerset should call 01643 703704, or email customerservices@westsomerset.gov.uk.

Grants available for West Somerset residents to cut winter heating bills

GRIM warnings by consumer groups that energy bills could go up by as much as 10 per cent over the next six months are being tackled in a joint initiative by West Somerset Council and the UK’s longest-running and largest home energy saving project, the Heat Project.
Worries about rising costs stem from utility firms failing to pass on the resultant savings from last year’s fall in fuel prices.
Coupled with the forecast that the winter months ahead will be noticeably colder than last year, increases in energy bills could equate to \ devastating financial blow for many people living in West Somerset and Exmoor.
The council-endorsed Heat Project is currently targeting homes throughout the district through a mailing campaign to increase awareness of the grants available to all households for the installation of loft and cavity wall insulation.
It has been calculated that in a poorly-insulated property, up to 35 per cent of the heat produced by a central heating system is lost though walls, while 25 per cent escapes through the roof.
The installation of loft and cavity wall insulation is a relatively quick, easy, and cost-effective way of minimising such heat loss and significantly reducing a household’s carbon footprint, while also saving a potential £345 per year on energy bills.
Council portfolio holder for health and welfare, Councillor Kate Kravis, said: “We have supported the Heat Project for three years and recognise that grant-funded insulation schemes such as this help reduce the carbon footprint of the district as well as lowering residents’ fuel bills.
“We are happy to support and promote the scheme knowing that the Heat Project will continue to provide excellent customer service and workmanship, and we hope that local people will take advantage of this great offer.”
Grants available for these energy saving measures are limited, and anybody who wants to apply for a grant for insulation through the Heat Project should do so quickly to avoid disappointment.
Depending on the household’s circumstances, individuals who are in receipt of qualifying benefits may receive the insulation measures completely free.
Further information about the Heat Project in West Somerset is available by calling a free helpling on 0800 093 4050.