A group of residents in Townfield, Rickmansworth, have become the first in their district to trial a pioneering energy-saving project.
The newly launched Transition Streets programme is funded by Three Rivers District Council in conjunction with local co-operative Grand Union Community Energy (GUCE). Small groups of neighbours come together to complete a free programme aimed at helping them cut carbon emissions. Armed with a 70-page booklet full of ideas for how they can reduce their energy consumption, participants are invited to discuss what might work best in their own area.
Ricky News spoke to Jessica Holt, one of the neighbours signed up to the cost-cutting project.
She explained: “The houses in Townfield are townhouses with flat roofs. A lot of the group has experienced insulation problems because of our roofs, so pooling together our experiences and sharing tips has been really useful.”
Although each session in the programme focuses on a particular topic like water or food, Jessica was keen to stress that the meetings are very relaxed.
She added: “There’s no pressure to do anything you don’t want to, but it’s much more motivating to make those small changes when you’re making connections with people around you who also want to do their bit.”
Each of the participants has now also had a thermal camera discern which parts of their houses are losing the most heat. Many have also signed up to further free resources that they didn’t know were available before the course started.
Jessica said: “These may not be enormous changes but if every road had a programme like this, it would really add up.
“It’s also just been really nice to get to know my neighbours.”
To find out more about Transition Streets in TRDC, see guce.org.uk/get-involved/
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