Steve Curry explains why Valleys to Coast supported a solar farm and the role it could play in wider community regeneration.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are made from layers of semi-conducting material, usually silicon, which collects light hitting the cell to create an electric field across the layers. In strong sunshine more electricity is produced but they work on cloudy days as well. Groups of cells are brought together into panel modules that can be grouped together and either roof or ground-mounted.
Wales’ first upland solar PV farm is set to go ahead despite being scaled-down, subsidy-reduced and initially refused by council planners.
The project has been supported by Valleys to Coast (V2C) since its inception, through the planning process and onto appeal for the following reasons: a ‘community benefit’ fund would become available; longer-term jobs and training are written into an agreement between V2C and the developer and related energy opportunities would be opened-up as would the possibility of an adjoining leisure development. Together these things could transform the fortunes of a head-of-the-valley area in the Welsh deprivation index ‘top ten’ and facing a precarious future with austerity cuts to public services and welfare benefits continuing.
The 5MW PV array will sit above a V2C hillside estate. The surrounding landscape will be improved through surface water drainage, pathways and planting and the community fund will be administered through V2C to help tackle fuel poverty in the area.
V2C owns circa 250 properties in the Caerau area and a substantial amount of land. This bestows upon us the obligation to show the sort of leadership that is needed for community regeneration. That leadership is about more than implementing project A or B it is identifying and grasping every opportunity, joining-up and maximising the possibilities for places where disadvantage ‘pools’.
Bridgend Council is leading one of the three UK smart systems and heat pilot projects, a series of experiments aimed at de-carbonising heating. The Caerau Geothermal Heat Network will pump water around old mine workings before transferring to a network of homes. It is a high-risk/high-reward project that could be part of the energy future not just for Caerau but other valleys too.
So, an energy-future of ‘harvesting light’ and ‘mining heat’ could be a catalyst.
Usually ‘regeneration’ programmes focus on ‘issues’ in post-industrial areas: unemployment, drugs, teen-pregnancy. This can make anyone who wasn’t already feel quite depressed about where they live. These energy projects are capturing the area’s assets – south-facing slopes, a network of former mine workings, and using modern technologies to exploit them, cleanly and sustainably. They will bring some work, some money and perhaps a little hope and pride to an area where people feel a strong sense of decline.
V2C has already made substantial investments in Caerau, in addition to WHQS, these include: a 4.5 acre market garden; over £1 million on home energy efficiency; and a safer route to school with associated pathway improvements now safely connecting disparate parts of the community. Now, in what would otherwise have likely been a continuing story of decline, the solar array can be a catalyst for further investment.
Usefully, the Building Communities Trust (BCT) under ‘Invest Local’ has arrived in Caerau with a £1 million fund over 10 years where the community decides what, where and how money is spent – the aim is a legacy of sustainable projects and ‘community capacity’.
V2C is also working with a Wales-based investment fund exploring ideas such as ‘self-build’ as more social housing in the area would not be in great demand and private housing developers are not seeking sites. To ensure we get this right we are conducting independent research into community aspirations for such projects.
We also used the general lack of engagement, and even fewer objections to the solar farm, to research opinions and ambitions around landscape and energy. The findings of a research, which involved 142 local people, showed an appetite for better use of outside space – footpaths and natural play especially – and a liking for the area’s landscape coupled with happiness about renewable energy development.
The Council has started its ‘community asset transfer’ (CAT) programme in common with most local authorities in response to public spending austerity. V2C has facilitated discussions between local community groups on how they might work together to ensure a future for some community assets and activities. In particular, we’ll explore whether the development of a single building (with a single use) could become a more sustainable, long-term solution to a range of community needs.
In summary, V2C will act as a catalyst to bring together community members and other agencies, needs and opportunities, to explore how the above initiatives might be drawn together to maximise local impact and outcomes.
It is about being proactive, spotting opportunities, investing time and effort, building relationships and reputation. It is not about housing associations as ‘administrators of a public good’ but as agencies that improve people’s lives.
Steve Curry is community regeneration manager at Valleys to Coast.