Yorkshire Dales Green Communities Programme

About the project

The Green Communities programme has been developed to provide free advice and support to communities within the Yorkshire Dales LEADER area.

In conjunction with the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority and the Energy Saving Trust, our dedicated project coordinator will work alongside selected communities for up to two years to help them to understand their carbon footprint and develop a realistic action plan to reduce it.

The co-ordinator will work with the community to deliver energy efficiency, renewable energy and other environmental projects from a base within the Yorkshire Dales National Park offices in Bainbridge, Richmondshire.

Who funds it?

LEADER is a community-led rural development programme which aims to improve the quality of life in rural communities through locally driven development initiatives and projects.

The funding is being made available through the Rural Development Programme for England, which is jointly funded by Defra and the European Union, and is managed by Yorkshire Forward in the Yorkshire & Humber region. Please visit the EU Commission for Rural Development for further information.

Sustainability 4 Yorkshire was successful in winning the LEADER bid and has secured funding to recruit a project co-ordinator to develop and deliver a number of comprehensive action plans for the region.

What are the benefits?

The programme will deliver a number of benefits for the communities involved including:

• Reduced carbon footprint.
• Improved understanding of energy efficiency, renewable energy options and sustainable living.
• Confidence to act on climate change and energy issues.
• Reduced fuel bills due to improved energy efficiency of the home.

Community Selection

An initial evaluation process has taken place and the following communities have been selected to participate in the project:

Bentham

Clapham

Grassington and Threshfield

Grewelthorpe and Kirkby Malzeard

Horton in Ribblesdale and Stainforth

Malhamdale

Newton le Willows

Raydale

Would your community like to be involved?

There may still be scope to help other communities.  For further information, please contact Jill Armstrong on 01969  652391 or email Jill.Armstrong@s4y.org.uk

Want to understand more about the project?

Download the pdf files below: (you'll need Adobe Acrobat to view these files, click on the link to download it, if you don't have it installed)

Project outline
Evaluation process [outline of criteria we use to select green communities]