Climate Change
Matlock Town Council declared a Climate Emergency on 17th June 2019, based on the following motion:
That Matlock Town Council declares a Climate and Ecological Emergency and commits the Council to becoming carbon neutral by 2030. They also wish to encourage and support Matlock in this goal. This will ensure that our Town does its part to keep global warming less than 1.5 degrees.
At the Council meeting on 16th February 2020 the Council agreed a Climate and Ecological Action plan. This plan details the Councils approach to tackling Climate Change. Further detail in respect of the actions the Council are taking to understand and reduce their own Carbon footprint can be found here.
MATLOCK TAKES ACTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Matlock Town Council has been working with Derbyshire Dales Community Energy to develop clean energy projects that will help reduce the town’s carbon footprint and move towards a more sustainable future. The partnership was awarded a grant through the Rural Community Energy Fund, managed by the Midlands Energy Hub, which over the past 4 months has been used to explore the possibility of installing solar panels on key buildings in the town including Highfields School and Twiggs of Matlock. Net zero charity Pure Leapfrog has now completed a feasibility study to see whether such projects are technical and financially viable. Their report has demonstrated that both sites are financially and technically viable. Hence there is a credible opportunity for Derbyshire Dales Community Energy(DDCE) to develop renewable generation projects that are owned and managed by the community- which we hope will help kick start a community energy revolution in Matlock.
Matlock Town Council and DDCE- the newly registered Benefit Society is hosting a public launch of the study on Tuesday the 22 February at the Imperial rooms in Matlock from 7.30 to 9.30 pm.
The launch will offer insights into how we can begin to develop some of the potential sites which were investigated in the town. It will also emphasize the importance of ongoing and meaningful community engagement. A financial model has been developed that DDCE will be able to use to assess the financial viability of any future community energy projects. This will help ensure that DDCE has the tools to develop a pipeline of projects and ensure there is an ongoing legacy out of this Matlock RCEF study
Rural Community Energy Fund Project
Matlock Town Council is working with Derbyshire Dales Community Energy to develop a clean energy project that will help reduce the town’s carbon footprint and move towards a more sustainable future. The draft final report has been received by the Council for approval at the Corporate Committee meeting on the 21st February 2022. You can follow the links here to read the report, appendix B and appendix E.
For an update on this project click here to view the January 2022 Newsletter from Derbyshire Dales Community Energy.
Councillor David Hughes is the Lead Councillor for Environment and Climate Change. Any questions can be directed through the the office on 01629 583042 or enquiries@matlock.gov.uk