March 2025 Edition
The Strategic Energy Partnership (SEP) between the Council and E.ON has been highlighted in The Guardian, focussing on how it is leading the way in energy innovation, including their work on:
- long-term energy efficiency measures providing warmer and cheaper-to-heat homes
- green energy upgrades for four of the city’s community buildings
- recruiting and training local apprentices
- new electric vehicle chargers installed across the city centre
- …and more
 The partnership is providing economic and social benefits for residents across Coventry and could act as a blueprint for other areas.
 Click the link below to watch Cllr O'Boyle's latest video on Coventry's Very Light Rail (CVLR) explaining how the system will soon look like as they install the first slabs on the road.
 To get a look at the demonstrator route the CVLR will take early this summer around the city, down Queen Victoria Road, see Cllr O'Boyle's second-latest video below too.
Coventry City Council’s digital inclusion programme, #CovConnects, has received £340,000 from Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and the West Midlands Combined Authority to support its ongoing work within in the city. The funding will help the team secure 1,250 Mi-Fi units which will be distributed through the programme’s #CovConnects Device Bank. Mi-fi units are small, portable devices which allow people to use 4G/5G units to connect to the internet, provided thanks to the Council’s ongoing partnership with Vodafone.
The Device Bank launched in July 2023 and has distributed over 3,850 devices to organisations across the city. These devices are used by these groups to help support residents in their everyday lives allowing the most vulnerable in the city to complete everyday task such as online banking, filling our job applications and accessing vital NHS services.
Find out more about the device bank and applying for devices for your organisation.
Researchers at The University of Warwick have developed a revolutionary thermosreversible adhesive technology for the fashion industry, in collaboration with apparel automation pioneer CreateMe Technologies.
The research, led by Professor Remzi Becer and Dan Mackinnon Ph.D. from Warwick’s Department of Chemistry, along with CreateMe’s research scientist Yixin Liu, Ph.D., MS, has created an adhesive that allows garments to be bonded at low temperatures and later disassembled at high temperatures (above dry-cleaning levels). This would directly address the fashion industry’s long-standing challenge of textile waste, where 92 million tons of fabric are discarded per year due to inefficient recycling.
Are you interested in the future of local newspaper archives? Coventry University's Research Centre for Arts, Memory and Communities is leading a pilot project to help secure the future of these unique records and are urging anyone with an interest in the area to get involved.
The transformation of the local newspaper into a digital first industry means that items such as bound copies, photographs and cuttings libraries are becoming redundant. Business records are also hard to identify because of the rapid acquisition of titles by large conglomerates. This means the history these products document and the documentation of their own history is hit and miss and often falls to volunteer groups who recognise their value. This project, which is supported by a Resilience Grant from The National Archives, will create a toolkit and network to support those working with collections.
The free event will be held online using Microsoft Teams on Thursday 1 May at 10am. The meeting will give attendees an opportunity to learn more about the proposals and to feed into the process itself.
Sustainability West Midlands (SWM) is an independent, not-for-profit company looking for somebody to support the growth and retention of their membership base through effective communication, strategic marketing, and operational excellence. It is a hybrid role with flexible working arrangements at SWM offices in Birmingham and at home.
Applications for this role will remain open until the position is filled.
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Veolia Environmental Trust
The Veolia Environmental Trust is providing grants of up to £75,000 to not-for-profit organisations, local authorities and Environmental Bodies in England. The Community Grant Scheme aims to make improvements to community facilities and the natural environment.
The next round for applications closes on 3 April 2025.
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Screwfix Foundation
This funding is intended for both national and local charities across the UK so that they can fix, repair, maintain and improve properties and community facilities specifically for those in need (by reason of financial hardship, sickness, disability or other disadvantage or distress) in the UK. A maximum value of £5,000 can be awarded.
The fund's application closing date is 10 May 2025.
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BBC Children in Need - Core Grants
This funding is intended for not-for-profit organisations that work with disadvantaged children and young people, under the age of 18, living in the UK. The core grants stream can support organisations for up to three years. The maximum grant is £120,000 (or £40,000 over three years), though most grants made are for much less than this.
The deadline for expression of interest is 15 April 2025.
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Coventry Job Fest kicks off in April to take jobs directly out into the community. It will take place in three wards: St Michael’s, Foleshill and Longford. Turn up on the day or register beforehand at the Job Shop for a day packed with:
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- fast-tracked applications and interviews
- on-the-day recruitment
- CV and interview workshops
- innovative activities to engage with employers, including VR
Ryton Pools Country Park has a range of events under the theme “Connecting with Nature”. Join them for a bluebell and Spring flower walk, or to see the spring moth night or day, and more!
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Find out what events are happening this coming month with WWT – for more details, check out their collections “Sherbourne Valley Project” and “Wellbeing at Warwickshire Wildlife Trust”.
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For regular updates subscribe to our newsletter. To get in touch with the Council regarding climate change and sustainability, including featuring in an article in a future newsletter, please email us at Climatechange@Coventry.gov.uk
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