September 2003HHP receives Lottery funding towards Sustainable Resource Centre The
Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) has received a significant boost to
its plans to develop as a Sustainable
Resource Centre (SRC)
through a National Lottery grant of £49,619 from the New
Opportunities Fund, awarded by the Social,
Economic and Environmental Development (SEED) Programme. The community members of HHP have for some
time wanted to provide better facilities to demonstrate its sustainable
principles. Over the last five years HHP has established
itself as an exemplar of sustainable development & lifestyle,
locally and nationally, providing a unique ‘real life’ experience of
people living sustainably. It has met growing interest in the project by
developing a range of services through a small co-operative business,
including guided tours of the development, workshops, and publication of
sustainable guides. The numbers of visitors to HHP has so far been
restricted by lack of suitable facilities so that it has been unable to
meet the growing interest from schools, colleges and other interest
groups. In addition HHP members have to date made considerable use of
their own homes, with an obvious impact on personal privacy. Now with
over 1000 visitors a year and a growing interest in environmental
issues, the need for dedicated facilities on the site seems ever more
apparent. The plan is to develop new amenities focused around an ‘eco-community building’ situated near and complimenting the houses, including a dedicated audio-visual room, seminar facilities and permanent exhibitions. The building itself will be built to similar high environmental standards as the homes, including meeting the zero heating and zero CO2 standards. This means that it will not require any form of dedicated heating and will generate as much clean renewable energy as it uses. The SRC will be an inspirational centre and act as regional catalyst for sustainable action, offering improved facilities and more extensive activities for a wide range of interest groups, such as local schools.
More specifically the SEED Programme funding
will be used towards the following: ·
Dedicated space for visitors including an audio-visual room for tours, workshops and school visits. ·
School
materials
to run practical educational activities ·
A range of new exhibits to
enhance the learning experience of a visit to HHP ·
Set up of a ‘green’ office
for HHP members to more effectively deliver its services ·
Development of a programme of technical workshops on key
sustainable themes ·
Increasing local awareness of sustainability through themed
event days run at HHP ·
Developing a sustainable
transport plan for HHP visitors and local community, including
lobbying for better local walking/cycling facilities and reducing impact
of visitors travelling to HHP by car. The SEED Programme award will dramatically improve the resources and
facilities we can offer to visitors, in particular to the local
community and schools. This will allow us to more effectively raise
awareness about sustainability issues and bring about real change in the
way people conduct their lives. Work on the new building is planned to start this summer, and the new services funded by the SEED Programme from September ‘03’ until December ‘04’. The project is currently seeking other funding towards meeting the core construction costs in addition to their personal cash and labour contributions.
1.
Is there a local need for a new sustainability
centre? The East Midlands has a growing reputation for sustainable development
with a cluster of projects resulting in increasing interest and visitors
to the district. Facilities in the area and at HHP currently do not
match the level of interest. HHP has identified less than 50 sustainable
housing schemes in the UK that provide access to visitors, many of which
have limited dedicated facilities. Of the 7 schemes identified in the
East Midlands only 2 provide dedicated visitor facilities.
The Hockerton Housing Project (HHP) has established itself as an exemplar of sustainable development, locally and nationally - currently it receives over 100 enquiries per month and over 1000 visitors a year. To meet project interest, HHP has developed a range of services through the creation of a small not-for-profit based co-operative business; including guided tours of the development, workshops, and publication of sustainable guides. HHP is unique for the area, and more widely, in being a living practical
example of sustainable development/ lifestyle providing a ‘real
life’ element combining practical demonstration of sustainable build
and renewable technologies. However, the numbers of visitors to HHP has
been so far restricted due to lack of suitable facilities so that it has
been unable to meet the growing interest from schools, colleges and
other interest groups. In addition HHP members have to date made
considerable use of their own homes, as there are no dedicated
non-domestic building facilities on site, with an obvious impact on
privacy. 2.
How did HHP identify the need to develop as a
sustainable resource centre? Before embarking on developing HHP further it was decided that it was
necessary to undertake a formal feasibility
study in order to better understand the needs of the groups we would
target, the most effective way of involving local communities and
agencies and the financial viability of such a centre. HHP therefore
initiated a feasibility study between November 2002 and February 2003,
funded by a £4,799 Lottery grant from the SEED
Programme, under its 'small grants scheme’.
This included an extensive survey of previous visitors to HHP,
workshops with key local partners and visits to other eco-demonstration
centres. The feasibility study confirmed the need for improved
facilities and endorsed the concept of a Sustainable Resource Centre. It
has also enabled the HHP community members to prioritise what should be
the key actions to deliver such a facility. Many letters of support from
locals, key local organisations and relevant national groups also
supported the plans. From the feasibility study HHP developed a business plan on how it could
most effectively meet visitor needs It is anticipated that HHP will be
able to double or treble it’s visitor numbers over the next few years. 3.
How will HHP balance its need for privacy? HHP only provides visitor access to the homes and site during organised events involving a booking-in process, rather than on a casual drop in basis. Although the new facilities and services planned will increase visitor numbers significantly, it is expected to have no overall impact on the occupants at HHP. This is because the new dedicated facilities will reduce the current need to use the homes themselves for tours and workshops. Any extended work activities will be focused on the new facilities rather than the homes. 4. The Social, Economic and Environmental Development (SEED) Programme a. In September 2000 the New Opportunities Fund, a National Lottery ‘good cause’ distributor, appointed the Royal Society for Nature Conservation (RSNC) as an Award Partner in its Green Spaces and Sustainable Communities funding programme. Through this, RSNC’s £15.3 million Social, Economic and Environmental Development (SEED) Programme is to distribute grants to communities throughout England before the end of December 2004. b.
The New Opportunities Fund distributes National Lottery money to
health, education and environment projects across the UK.
The Fund works with national, regional and local partners from
the public, private and voluntary sectors to fund initiatives, with
particular focus on the needs of those who are most disadvantaged in
society. c.
Press
Contacts SEED Programme press office: 01636 670 062 Email: mdrain@rsnc.cix.co.uk, website: www.rsnc.org/seed. New Opportunities Fund press office: 020 7211 1888, mobile: 07867 500 572. website: www.nof.org.uk. d.
For more information visit
www.rsnc.org/seed. 5.
How will HHP raise the funding for the new SRC building and other
development plans? HHP is currently considering a number of alternative sources of funding, including Government support, material discounts from suppliers, sponsorship and loan finance. HHP members themselves will be making significant personal contributions both in terms of their own labour input and cash contributions. 6. For further information about this news item or about Hockerton Housing Project in general please contact Nick White: Email: hhp@hockerton.demon.co.uk Tel: 01636 816902
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