GREEN FUTURE WALES

Llanidloes 2020: A carbon negative district and model for sustainability

The Llanidloes district in the upper Severn and upper Wye valleys in Mid Wales aims to create the UK’s first locally-controlled emissions reduction strategy which will encompass traditional rural industries and all emissions sources.  It will build a community consortium to establish a Carbon Negative District and will eventually provide a methodology for monitoring all energy use and emissions including forests and land use which will be a highly innovative and replicable model. The project will also rebuild local pride and confidence, giving training and employment in low carbon economy.

The complex strategy will include housing renovation, CHP, development of community woodlots and a fuel wood economy, transport reduction, application of new energy generation technologies and progressive land use planning.

APE  funding will enable the consortium to broaden its base, fundraise and lobby to obtain control over planning gain revenue from windfarms within the district – estimated at in excess of £300,000 per year.

We will use the money sparingly, multiplying every penny with our own voluntary efforts. It will enable us to raise our profile, sharpen our message and convince our local community that we both can and must become carbon negative, a net exporter of energy. We will make our beautiful green valley really GREEN. And when we do attract larger sums of funding there will be no funder or logo taking precedence over APE, who had the vision to be our first supporter.” LLES