News
Derbyshire Big Deals
Wed, 13 February 2013
Derbyshire County Council is also launching a switching scheme: Derbyshire Big Deals. This will make it easier for local people to cut their bills by switching energy companies. It works by bringing people together to pool their buying power to get the best price. It's based on an idea pioneered in the Netherlands where people saved up to £200 a year on an average bill of £1,300.Register your interest on our website and when the scheme goes live we'll let you know and ask for a few more details. Then when enough people have said they'll join − we're hoping for 5,000 − we'll strike a deal with an energy company. There's nothing to lose and it's completely free to register. You choose whether to take up the offer from the energy supplier. And if you do opt to change, we'll make the process of switching easy.
Switch ‘n’ Save
Wed, 13 February 2013
Nottinghamshire County Council has launched an energy tariff switching service to help people pool their buying power. Energy suppliers will be invited to offer a special discount deal to scheme members. By pooling your buying power with other people, you could save up to £200 a year on an average bill of £1,300. The more people that join, the bigger the likely savings for everyone.
From 12th February you’ll be able to register for the scheme online: www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/living/switchnsave/
or you can visit one of Nottinghamshire County Council’s Customer Service Points where an advisor will help you complete the ‘Switch ‘n’ Save form. You will need to have your most recent electricity and gas bill to hand when you register.
The registration period closes on Wednesday 20 March and energy suppliers will make their offers soon after that. You'll get an email that shows the best deal available on your gas and electricity. There's no obligation to take it up but if you do you'll be taken seamlessly through the process of switching supplier to get the better deal.
Help to Keep Warm in Nottinghamshire this Winter
Wed, 13 February 2013
Approximately 400 vulnerable people die in Nottinghamshire a year due to winter weather and its impact on their health. Many of these deaths could be avoided by people being more aware of the dangers and taking simple steps to keep warm. Nottinghamshire County Council has launched a campaign to help people ‘Keep Warm this Winter’.
People with disabilities and long-term health conditions, older people and those on a low income in particular may benefit from some of the information and schemes available. Explore the links below to see what help you might be able to get.
Ruth Mayne of Low West Carbon Oxford to Speak at Derbyshire Conference
Mon, 28 January 2013We are very pleased and excited to announce that the Co-Founder and Chair of an award-winning community-led initiative and the author of the 2020 Energy Strategy for Nottingham City are to deliver keynote speeches at the Derbyshire Community Climate Action Conference on 9th March.
Book a free place on the conference by contacting Nick Pigula: 01629 538304 / nicholas.pigula@derbyshire.gov.uk
Ruth Mayne helped found Low Carbon West Oxford (LCWO) in 2007 after flooding in the area led residents to become concerned about climate change. The group runs projects covering energy, transport, food, waste reduction and wildlife. In 2010 LCWO was a runner up in The Big Green Challenge and a winner in the Low Carbon Communities Challenge. In total they won £903,000 and much of this was spend on renewable and clean energy projects. LCWO's sister organisation West Oxford Community Renewables invests money in community renewable energy projects.
Ruth is currently working on a research project called EVALOC (Evaluating Low Carbon Communities). The project seeks to assess, explain and communicate the changes in energy use due to community activities within six selected case study projects under the Department of Energy and Climate Change's (DECC) Low Carbon Communities Challenge (LCCC) initiative, a government-supported initiative to transform the way communities use and produce energy, and build new ways of supporting more sustainable living.
Jerome Baddley is a senior manager at The Nottingham Energy Partnership (NEP), leading NEP’s sustainability services team.In 2007 Jerome calculated the sustainable energy potential for Nottingham and in 2009 was commissioned to write the now adopted 2020 Energy Strategy for the City. Jerome also constructed a detailed model for the tracking of the city strategy delivery and wrote Nottingham’s Sustainable Energy Action Plan for the EU Covenant of Mayors.
In 2010 Jerome wrote the Regional Carbon Management Plan for the NHS in the East Midlands. Over the last three years he has managed programmes to support dozens of NHS organisation across the UK to measure, reduce and report their carbon emissions and natural resource use, through low carbon procurement, energy use and waste reduction.
Over five years Jerome’s team has footprinted over 4.2million tonnes of CO2e and directly saved 4,318 tonnes of emission and around £2.5m per annum in large organisations. Over the last three years, Jerome and his team have supported the City and County Primary Care Trusts to cut their carbon emissions by 25% each,saving hundreds of thousands of pounds on their energy bills.
The conference will also include workshops from a range of local community groups about their inspiring work and organisations that can support community action on climate change. The topics of these workshops will be announced in the coming weeks.
All local climate-change focused groups are invited to have a stand at the conference’s ‘marketplace’ to showcase their work.
Anyone living in Derbyshire who is, or would like to, take action on climate change can book a free place on the conference by contacting Nick Pigula: 01629 538304 / nicholas.pigula@derbyshire.gov.uk
The conference takes place at the Derbyshire Eco Centre, nr Middleton-by-Wirksworth on 9th March 2013.
Bookings Open: Derbyshire Community Climate Action Conference
Fri, 18 January 2013Bookings are now being taken for what promises to be one of the most exciting local events of the year: a one-day conference for people living in Derbyshire who are taking action at community-level to tackle climate change.
Derbyshire Community Climate Action Network Conference, which is being run 
by Derbyshire County Council, takes place at the Derbyshire Eco Centre (Middleton-by-Wirksworth) on Saturday 9th March.
by Derbyshire County Council, takes place at the Derbyshire Eco Centre (Middleton-by-Wirksworth) on Saturday 9th March. The day will include:
- National keynote speakers
- Inspirational workshops from local community groups about their projects
- The chance to meet lots of other people who are doing similar work
- Workshops by organisations that can help you in the work you are doing
- A 'marketplace' of stalls packed full of useful information
- A purpose-built eco venue with many inspiring features
More information about speakers and workshops will be posted on our website as it is available: www.everybodys-talking.org.
To book your free place contact Nick Pigula on 01629 538304 or nicholas.pigula@derbyshire.gov.uk with your name, contact details and the name of any climate change-focused community group you belong to (you don't need to belong to one to attend). Spaces are limited and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis.
For more information about similar conferences which took place in 2010, see our community conferences page.