ACRE calls for key outcomes from Green Deal inquiry

Leading rural network ACRE has called for five key outcomes from a Commons inquiry into the delivery of the Government’s energy-saving initiatives for homes.

Nick Chase, Director of Policy and Research at ACRE (Action with Communities in Rural England), spoke out after giving evidence based on a survey of ACRE’s Network of England’s 38 rural community councils to the Committee’s Green Deal Watching Brief inquiry.

Mr Chase said: "Green Deal has been very hard to sell to rural households. Our recent England-wide survey has suggested that the concept of the scheme is difficult for people to understand. People are concerned about the high cost of the loan, the uncertainty of how much pay-back in energy savings they will receive and the fact that the ‘debt’ of the loan stays with the property until repaid and this could affect the resale value of the house."

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Beech Hill Parish Council needs a clerk

Beech Hill Parish Council is looking for a Parish Clerk for 4 hours a week.  This small, active council meets on alternative months in the village.  The next meeting will be on Tuesday 16 September.  The Clerk would work from home and a laptop computer is supplied.  The salary is on the NALC/SLCC scales and depending on qualifications and experience.

For further information, please contact Janet Haines, Locum Clerk on 0118 978 8947 or clerk@beechhillvillage.co.uk

Increased cashback from the Green Deal Home Improvement Scheme

The Green Deal Home Improvement Fund (GDHIF) in England & Wales assists householders financially to carry out improvements to the energy efficiency of their properties in order to reduce heating bills. The GDHIF scheme is not means tested or restricted by area or property type; therefore it is open to everyone.

From June 2014 the cashback offer has increased to up to £6K for solid wall insulation, and up to £1k for 2 eligible energy savings measures.

For more information see:https://www.gov.uk/green-deal-energy-saving-measures/get-money-back-from-the-green-deal-home-improvement-fund

For a quick guide on the cashback – http://www.nia-uk.org/downloads/Final_Consumer_Quick_Guide_WEB.pdf

 

 

Using Social Media to Promote Your Hall

 A training session on using social media to promote your hall was held at Tidmarsh village hall on 11^th June. 15 village and community hall volunteers heard talks from Nigel Morgan from Morgan PR and Wendy Dacey, Community Buildings adviser at CCB, on ways to promote their halls and the activities which take place inside.

Nigel explained the benefits of Twitter and Face book and how they can be used to make more people aware of their local hall and what’s happening inside. One or two halls already had Facebook accounts but learned how to use them more effectively, and the benefits of Twitter meant that a much wider audience could be reached than by traditional marketing methods.

However, there was still scope for other marketing strategies and something as simple as a sign outside the building with information as to how to book a session is important. It’s good practice for halls to have websites to showcase what goes on in their buildings and there is still a place for a regular column in the local village newsletter to outline village activities.

The course was well received and feedback included ‘The course’s basic message is do it! I will!’

CCB is grateful to Comic Relief’s Communities Fund for providing a grant to run the meeting and further training will take place in the autumn. 

For more information, please contact Wendy Dacey on 0118 961 2000 or by email at wendy.dacey@ccberks.org.uk

Rural Housing Week: 30th June to 6th July 2014

An offer from Arlene Kersley, CCB's Rural Housing Enabler

I’m not going to proselytise here; by now our communities must know that poor access to affordable housing in Berkshire’s rural villages is real concern for young people . I do urge you to take the time to read the latest report from the National Housing Federation: Rural Housing – Countryside in crisis. See the link below: 
http://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/pub.housing.org.uk/Rural_housing_-_Countryside_in_crisis.pdf

My one complaint about the report is that the maps have failed to identify any of Berkshire as rural! Did you know that in Berkshire there are 85 parishes that are identified in statute as Designated Rural Areas for housing purposes? This designation affords special protection to affordable homes in those parishes. 

The CCB Rural Housing Enabler (yours truly) will talk to your parish council, neighbourhood plan group or community group, about how your community is affected by high house prices. The RHE can help your community identify local need for affordable homes and if necessary help you get a small number of homes built just to meet the needs of your community.

Our work is funded from a dedicated Partnership of Local Authorities (RBWM and West Berkshire) and their housing partners. There is no cost to the community to have the RHE come and talk to you, or to have a housing need survey done for your parish.

Call me if you would like more information. Arlene Kersley, Rural Housing Enabler for Berkshire, 0118 961 2000 or email at arlene.kersley@ccberks.org.uk

Community Shares

Community Shares refers to the sale of shares in enterprises serving a community purpose. This type of investment has been used to finance shops, pubs, community buildings, renewable energy initiatives, local food schemes, along with a host of other community based ventures. 

The Community Shares Unit is supported by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) until March 2015 and is delivered in partnership by Co-operatives UK and Locality. Modelled on the highly successful Asset Transfer Unit within Locality, the new unit works with partners to develop standards of good practice, encourage policy reforms and raise awareness to support the growth of community shares.

If this sounds like an interesting concept to you, why not find out more? 

Click here to see their video on YouTube. 

New Law will support Volunteers

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling has announced that in future “Good Samaritans and community heroes” will have the law on their side.
The government is taking action to support the millions of people who volunteer and carry out good deeds every year. An important part of this is to make sure they are not put off from participating by worries about risk and liability if something goes wrong. 
Changes are being made to counteract the growing perception that people risk being successfully sued if they do something for the common good – like leading a school trip, organising a village fete, clearing snow from a path in front of their home or helping in an emergency situation. 
The measures will also provide greater protection to small business owners who face challenges from irresponsible employees even if they have taken a responsible approach to safety training and procedures. 

The law will be changed so that judges will have to give weight to 3 additional factors when deciding negligence cases. 
They are:
* If the person was doing something for ‘the benefit of society’ – to give weight to the fact people were doing a good deed like volunteering, running an event or trip, or helping out by clearing snow
* If they had been acting in a ‘generally responsible way’ – to make sure the court will give consideration to the fact people may have taken care when organising an activity but an accident has happened
* If they were ‘acting in emergency’ – if they stepped in to help someone in danger but something went wrong.
Commenting on the proposals, SLCC Chief Executive, Howard Midworth, said: “The Society is supportive of the continuing efforts of government to remove the fear of being sued and to reduce the impact of the claims culture that can sometimes prevent local communities and volunteers undertaking actions for the benefit of the community.” 

www.gov.uk/government/news/grayling-law-must-protect-everyday-heroes

Thanks to the Society of Local Council Clerks for this article.