Cambridgeshire County Council (CCC) is a local authority in England with a clear commitment to decarbonisation and renewable energy deployment to benefit its residents.
Amongst other factors in this commitment is support for community-led energy initiatives – including the UK’s first rural retrofit heat network in Swaffham Prior.
THE CHALLENGE
In May 2019, Cambridgeshire County Council declared a Climate Emergency. It was estimated that 10,000 homes plus businesses such as pubs, shops and schools are dependent on oil across villages in Cambridgeshire. Therefore, Cambridgeshire County Council and its local partners Swaffham Prior Community Land Trust applied for and secured development funding for a ground-breaking project to tackle decarbonisation in hard-to-treat rural, off-grid communities. Along with funding for specialist technical and engineering consultancy, CCC was awarded funding for dedicated project management support to ensure that this complex project was delivered on time, spec and budget. This enabled CCC to keep the project moving through many risks and challenges by supplying additional resources to their busy team.
THE SOLUTION
CCC commissioned Avieco to partner with the team and provide specialist project management expertise. We worked on behalf of the client to develop and manage risk registers, critical paths, governance processes and procedures, and provide dedicated secretariat support to the busy local authority team.
We also successfully applied for additional funding from third parties to enable the project to continue on a tight timeline and worked closely with the community engagement lead to regularly communicate and update residents, housing associations, funders and other stakeholders.
THE RESULTS
- Provided strong project management support and project control to keep the complex project on track on time, to spec and budget
- Upskilled and supported the client team so that they could continue the project successfully when Avieco’s support concluded
- Delivering over 1,000 tCO2e carbon savings annually through one strategic project
- Raising awareness, securing senior stakeholder buy-in for this UK-first innovative project
CONCLUSION
CCC’s delivery partners are breaking ground in summer 2021 to start work and get zero-carbon heat delivered to 300 homes – moving away from price-volatile and carbon-intensive heating oil, delivering significant carbon savings to households and achieving CCC’s strategic aims. This project is the forerunner of many more nationally – CCC is leading other local authorities and communities to take radical decarbonisation action.
A fantastic project and a first of its kind in the country – paving the way for other communities to develop similar schemes and access support from suitable project partners. Avieco helped secure the funding with first-class project management and expert insight, creating accessible renewable heat for oil-dependent homes in Cambridgeshire.
For more information, please contact:
Helen Troup, Principal Consultant
T: 02070480450
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