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BRAF
Conference
30 March 2007 |
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Overview of key actions from all the workshops
Headline issues reported to the plenary session are shown in bold.
Workshop A. Supporting rural communities
to reduce their carbon footprint
Workshop B. Local Foods
Workshop C. Empowering communities - how can
community environmental needs be identified and influence
planning and Community Plans?
Workshop D. Transport - Rethinking bus services in rural areas
Workshop E. Ecotourism
Workshop F. Under One Roof - Is there scope to
develop multi-use buildings in Bedfordshire?
Workshop G. Business opportunities from
Climate Change – Will Climate Change equal profit or loss?
Workshop A. Supporting rural
communities to reduce their carbon footprint
- Need for community champions – NB training soon to be
available from BRCC
- Need for a "Carbon Officer" as focal point within the
local authority
Making links – universities, schools
Support/information for communities:-
- On techniques
- On where communities
can get support for taking forward carbon saving actions
- On sourcing best
materials
- Need to demonstrate
locally simple solutions
- Financial incentives /free low energy light bulbs
- Support/promote development of biofuels, biomass,
biodigestion and renewable materials e.g. Combined heat &
power systems for community buildings, local cooperatives to
supply wood
- Improve public/community transport
- Services:-
- to be delivered to
people to save travel by car by the many
- video conferencing
facilities to reduce travel
- Encourage composting of food waste
- Local food production
- Encourage carbon-neutral homes
- Need clarity re planning issues e.g. solar thermal
panels on old buildings?
- Promote sustainable energy to developers
Workshop B. Local Foods
With the end of the contract with Scolarest, there is a new
opportunity for local food to be used in Bedfordshire schools
Need to promote understanding of food in schools
Need training schools [for schools] like in Essex
Joined up approach for schools – e.g. After school clubs, school kitchen
gardens, local sourcing, food on syllabus, kids chose menus, cooking,
information packs, 5 fruit & veg a day, visits to local farms, farmer visits
to schools, link with climate change agenda, work experience with farmers.
Encourage local people to grow their own food, e.g. have a strip of land
near villages so local people can contribute; communal plot if there is a
waiting list for allotments?
More producers needed - Need to sell and promote working on farms
Need to ensure quality of locally produced food
Provide better information/promotion:-
cost – perception of cost? .
to encourage buying in season
support and training on growing
promoting quality of local food
farmers markets
associating food with the landscape and
grazing, promote landscape as well as food.
Workshop C. Empowering communities - how can
community environmental needs be identified and influence planning and Community
Plans?
The current range of involvement techniques generally work well in
effectively gathering views and aspirations
Community consultation and delivery is under-resourced
Communities feel disempowered by the planning system
Legislation – limit the amount of money that can be put into a
planning process appeal
More resources needed for community planning (parish plans, GI plans,
others)
Closer links needed between planning officers and communities. E.g.
Explain planning processes and systems. Getting information out to people
earlier – and to a range of people. Need for ongoing dialogue.
Community aspirations are being fed up to planners, developers and
companies, but they need to be raised in a manageable way, and there needs
to be more communication coming back down from the planners, developers and
companies.
Need to have clear mechanisms for slotting in community / parish plans
into the planning system and community plans/LSPs. Need to get better fit
between language and format of community developed plans and that of the
planning system?
Need to summarise and aggregate the key conclusions from individual
parish plans to help feed into higher level plans and strategies.
Workshop D. Transport - Rethinking bus services in rural
areas
- Bus routes need to be considered in light of today’s
needs, not historic usage patterns
- There is a lack of awareness and information about bus
services (public and community services)
- Need better bus routes and times to meet current needs
- Need better information and awareness:-
- Explanations for
changes in services
- Research into needs of
potential passengers
- publicity of what bus
services exist, particularly for people who do not have
access to the internet
- increase awareness of
community transport
- improved roadside
timetables and information that is stop-specific
- Need consistent upper age limit for children’s fares
- Foster change of attitude of general public to public
transport versus car culture. E.g. improved image
- Reverse the deregulation of bus services
- Give greater priority for funding to take account of
changing rural demographics.
- Reduce fear of crime – especially at bus stations.
- Improve existing infrastructures
- Improve provision for cycles on buses and trains
- Opportunities to improve access to countryside via rail
e.g. could Natural England rural transport and tourism
initiative ‘mesh’ in with services like the Wanderbus to
provide an ‘occasional’ service for walking groups.
Workshop E. Ecotourism
Communication, education, especially disabled access
NIRAH seen as key opportunity
Nirah – will put Bedfordshire on the map, but questions about whether it
is sustainable
Accessibility – need to educate and promote
Develop niche markets based around environment/nature-based attractions
A central information point
Encourage take up and knowledge of the Bedfordshire Food Mark
Foster community pride – tourists can engender pride
Promote Bunyan
Promote overnight stays in villages
Encourage young visitors
Improve awareness of what on offer – amongst both tourists and local
people
Improved infrastructure - Rowing Lake and East/West Rail
More providers of horse riding opportunities
Improved public transport:-
north/south is easy but west/east difficult
rural connections poor and lack of
information
Encourage planners to view positively
Workshop F. Under One Roof - Is there scope to develop
multi-use buildings in Bedfordshire?
Communication between organisations operating separately is
inadequate
Representation, feeding in local needs to LSP / LAA level
Practical barriers of modernising buildings.
Need to find ways of improving representation and communication,
perhaps through; Local Area Agreements, Local Strategic Partnerships,
Parish Plans.
Need to clarify how the findings and proposed actions from the parish
plans feed into the LAA and LSP for strategy & policy development?
Children Centres are meeting with a variety of agencies and mapping
needs.
RCC sends news out to Parish Councils – use as the lynchpin.
Joining up thinking - Individual partners can begin dialogues with one
another eg., Children’s Centres and RCC. Propose RCC & BLEDP (IiC) workshop
in 2-3 months time.
Look at how to address practical barriers e.g. modernising buildings
(planning etc), overheads and maintenance
Workshop G. Business opportunities from
Climate Change – Will Climate Change equal profit or loss?
Scope for new products and markets
Need to change mindsets
New opportunities need to be investigated and exploited e.g. carbon
trading, bio crops, renewable building materials e.g. from hemp,
micro-generation of energy
Financial encouragement to expand businesses in an environmentally
friendly way
Need to change mindsets:-
promote awareness, and communication to
clients, of environmental issues by support services for businesses,
including accountants and bank managers
employees and managers
customers
Need to look at transport needs within the rural community and tourism
Need policy shifts to be up to speed
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