With the rising cost of energy and the impact and growth of fuel poverty in our communities something had to be done. Therefore, in April 2021 the idea of an energy project was presented to the Fort Seafield and Wallacetown Community Council. Following agreement, the Community Association was born. The Energy Working Group was established to take the project forward.
Wallacetown is impacted by issues of multi-generational deprivation and poverty. It has a combined population of 3,107 and falls within the 5% Most Deprived Areas in Scotland. It is the 75th (out of 6,976) most Income Deprived Data Zone in Scotland, the 23rd most Employment Deprived and 18th most Health Deprived areas in Scotland. (Source SIMD 2020).
The Community Council and the Association, therefore identified Wallacetown as the area of greatest need. However, this is only the beginning. It is our ambition to develop further projects across all of our community area.
You can view a full project report here.
We have identified three publicly owned buildings, all school buildings, in Wallacetown. The plan is to carry out a Technology Feasibility Study to ascertain their suitability to host PV panels on their roofs.
This will provide the opportunity to generate energy that will offset the energy costs and reduce the carbon emissions and/or provide an income stream by selling any excess energy back to the grid. It is anticipated this income source can then be used by the community of Wallacetown to mitigate some of the impact of fuel poverty.
We have been able to secure funding through a successful bid to South Ayrshire Coastal Community Fund. This has allowed us to commission a feasibility study to identify fuel poverty baseline data for Wallacetown.
This study has been undertaken by the Fraser of Allander Institute. The Technology Feasibility Studies of the three buildings has been undertaken by Absolute a Scottish company with expertise in photovoltaic (PV) design and installation.
Once these have been completed we will then seek capital funding to commission the installation.
We have an excellent relationship withSouth Ayrshire Council. The project has their full support. The Energy Working Group membership is made up of associationmembers and Lead Officers from the Council. We frequently meet with the Multi-disciplinary Team based in Wallacetown and with the Directorate.
One of our key aims is to have an educational involvement. The starting point was with Newton Primary School where we recently held a competition to design an energy logo for our project.
A judging panel consisting of membership from the Wallacetown Community, Education Scotland and Home Energy Scotland. The winning logos are shown below.
As a prize the overall winner and the class will experience a STEM day out at Dumfries House.
We have also engaged with the University of Strathclyde who recognise this as animportant community project and are providing support and advice. Ayrshire College are also providing support. Education will be a key sustainable element for all our energy projects.
We have recently been granted membership to the Scottish Communities Climate Action Network (SCCAN)
This is an ambitious project which if successful will have a significant impact on the community of Wallacetown. It will provide a model of good practice to build on and share. The ability to apply for and access funding not open to local authorities provides the perfect opportunityto build a strong sustainable partnership.The development and empowerment of communities is core, hopefully this project will allow us to strengthen this even further.
Alan Roseweir – Project Lead for Energy Projects
Scottish Charitable Incorporated Organisation SC051189
