Neighbours can help each other save energy and money by signing up to Transition Streets, St AlbansCity and District Council’s City Neighbourhoods Committee heard on 25 September.
The Transition Streets community project enables neighbours in the same area to work together as a group to reduce their impact on the environment. Each group is provided with an information pack providing them with tips on cutting their carbon footprint by, for example, reducing their energy and water use.
The project is run by the community group Transition St Albans and is free to join. It is based on a similar scheme that was introduced in Totnes in Devon.
Catherine Ross from Transition St Albans, said: “We are currently looking for new groups to take part in the scheme which is now in its second year. Neighbours meet with each other to work through the information pack. It is full of information on reducing environmental impacts, cutting carbon footprints and saving on household bills. Taking part in Transition Streets can lead to an average household saving of £380 and 0.8 tonnes of carbon dioxide per annum. People enjoy getting to know their neighbours better and tend to feel more involved with their local community. If you want to find out more about the project and are interested in joining, please email streets@transitionstalbans.org.”
Funding for the St Albans scheme has come from the National Lottery, the District Council, Hertfordshire County Council and the Co-operative Membership Community Fund.
So far groups in 13 roads in St Albans have signed up to the scheme covering more than 100 households.
Councillor Robert Donald, Chair of the City Neighbourhoods Committee for St Albans City and District Council; said: “Catherine’s presentation on Transition Streets and the progress that has been made in getting new groups to join locally challenged us all to think about what more we could do to help reduce CO2 emissions in St Albans City. She demonstrated how individuals can really make a difference still through taking small practical steps and the added benefits when a whole street participates together in these. Several Residents’ Association representatives now want to book Catherine to talk at their next AGM to find out more about how their members can participate in the project. It is important that the Council continues to provide some funding for the project in line with its aims to reduce greenhouse gases in the District. We should do all we can to encourage local residents to help us meet the targets the Council signed up to in the Nottingham Declaration on climate some years ago.”
More information is contained in the papers for the City Neighbourhoods Committee meeting on 25 September. These are available on the Council’s website at: http://stalbans.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=434&MId=7576&Ver=4