Community buildings

The Fellfoot Forward Landscape Partnership Scheme supported communities to change their community buildings to become low carbon and sustainable, and to focus on opportunities to retrofit and renovate, utilising renewable energy, choosing natural materials, and nurturing an ethos of reduce, reuse, repair and recycle.

Climate change science requires urgent action to halt the predicted irreversible environmental changes occurring on a global scale. In Cumbria, 100-year flood events have happened three times in the past two decades. According to the MET office and Oxford University, the frequency and intensity of such events will magnify as climate change bites.

Grant funding support was available to help make energy efficiency improvements to the fabric of community buildings of heritage value in the area and for user comfort. This included roof, floor and wall insulation, heat pumps, double glazing, LED replacement lighting systems, traditional lime plaster, water-saving devices, and solar PV installation.

Heritage community buildings fund

The Heritage community buildings fund was administered by partner organisation, Cumbria Action for Sustainability (now Futureproof Cumbria), and grantswere available for groups and organisations involved in community heritage buildings projects that benefitted the sustainability and wellbeing of Fellfoot Forward communities. A total project expenditure of £100,000 over the four year scheme was budgeted for initiatives to support heritage community buildings to conserve energy.