Cutting our carbon footprint

Good progress is now being made in our efforts to cut carbon emissions from Broadmeadow Sports Centre, Newton Abbot Leisure Centre and the Teignmouth Lido.

Our aim is to replace traditional heating and lighting systems with modern, low carbon alternatives which will cut heating costs and contribute to lowering our carbon footprint as part of efforts to combat climate change.

A new roof over the Broadmeadow sports hall is now in place which includes a 65kW solar PV system, consisting of 176 photovoltaic solar panels. This is expected to produce 65,000 kWh of electricity per annum by capturing sunlight – saving up to 13.7 tonnes of carbon per year and producing the equivalent benefit of taking seven cars off the road.  Alongside the new roof, LED lighting has also been completed along with the installation of a battery energy store.

The new systems at Broadmeadow are expected to be commissioned and working by the end of the month.

At Newton Abbot Leisure Centre, installation of a 103kW solar PV system is scheduled to start next week and once in operation will save up to 21.9 tonnes of carbon per year, the equivalent of taking 11 cars off the road.  The discovery of old buried utilities has delayed installation of the air source heat pump but we expect to complete installation of all decarbonisation equipment before the end of June and have a new power supply and all systems operating in the summer.

At Teignmouth Lido, an air source heat pump installation has been completed and will be commissioned as soon as a new power supply is available.  Planning permission has been secured for the pool-side solar pergola and we will soon install the solar PV system which will save approximately 7.1 tonnes of carbon, the equivalent of taking four cars off the road.

We are working to complete the projects as soon as possible before opening the pool for the season. The changes will reduce heating costs and extend the life of the Lido by installing low carbon source heat pumps and other lower energy saving systems.

The above projects are part of a larger pipeline of projects which will begin to reduce our direct carbon footprint by up to 400 tonnes CO2 from 2022 and will feature in our carbon footprint from 2022/23.

Helping Ukrainian refugees

The Government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme opened today for visa applications from those fleeing Ukraine.

The scheme allow individuals, charities, community groups and businesses in the UK to bring Ukrainians to safety – including those with no family ties to the UK –  and earlier this week the government set up a website allowing people to record their interest in providing accommodation.

From today visa applications will be allowed from Ukrainians and immediate family members who already have named people willing to sponsor them.  Those eligible for the scheme must be Ukrainian nationals or the immediate family member of a Ukrainian national and have been resident in Ukraine prior to 1 January 2022.

Under this scheme people arriving from Ukraine will have access to public services, work and benefits. Sponsors must not charge any rent but will be eligible for an optional ‘thank you’ payment of £350 per month per residence.  Sponsors will be expected to commit to housing refugees for at least six months.  A Frequently Asked Questions page has been set up by the Government.

The Government says the next phase of the scheme will be open to people wanting to be sponsors who do not know anyone personally fleeing Ukraine and who are currently expressing an interest in being a sponsor via the government’s website.

Although awaiting details from Government on how the scheme will work in detail, Devon councils are already working together to anticipate how services will provide support to the scheme regarding for example property inspections, support provision or safeguarding checks.

We ask those who have locally expressed an interest on the Government website not to contact the council’s housing team.  Once we have more information we will update our Stand with Ukraine web page

Stay at home if feeling unwell

With Covid cases rising Devon’s Director of Public Health, Steve Brown, is urging people to stay at home if they feel unwell with coronavirus or symptoms of other illnesses that could be infectious.

With figures locally well above the national average, he has set out five steps residents are encouraged to take to keep them safe and to help stop the spread.

Two tips to stall the cost of energy price cap increase

With gas and electricity prices set to rise from 1 April, Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis is encouraging people to take two simple actions to manage their costs.

• Residents who pay for their energy by direct debit are advised to take regular meter readings and be sure to take a meter reading on 31 March before the new price cap comes into force. Residents can then prove the amount of energy they used at the cheaper rate and so avoid paying the 1 April higher rate for energy consumed in March.
• Residents who use ‘non smart’ prepayment meters are advised to check if they can ‘stockpile’ energy now to beat the April price increase. If residents top-up now but use this energy after the price cap changes, they will be charged for the energy they have used at the rate that applied when they topped up.