Save money and reduce waste as successful scheme relaunches

Last year Three Rivers District Council and its partner, Grand Union Community Energy (GUCE) - a community energy cooperative – invited groups of neighbours from streets in the district to take part in the Transition Streets programme which aimed to connect people, empower environmental action, and transform places.

After a successful pilot, the project, now called Sustainable Streets, will be extended and opened to more residents.

During the pilot, three groups of neighbours, compromising 22 people, successfully completed the programme and each group took actions to green their homes, change lifestyle choices, and form closer connections with their communities. As a result of participating in Transition Streets, residents organised a community litter pick, shared harvested rainwater and household items, and collectively purchased organic produce. Participants were also offered free thermal images of their homes to help identify areas of heat loss in the winter, which inspired some group members to improve the energy efficiency of their homes with insulation, solar panels, heat pumps and more.

One previous participant, Rickmansworth resident Bridget, said: “Back in December, we didn’t really know any of our neighbours. We were new on the street. Transition Streets really gave us an opportunity to meet our neighbours and our broader neighbourhood and also share ideas and our experiences of our houses, and that’s been really valuable.”

Cllr Jon Tankard, Lead Member for Sustainability and Climate Change, said: “Under Sustainable Streets, small groups of neighbours meet in each other’s homes over a few months to complete a free programme of seven short and engaging workshops covering key topics to save money and cut carbon emissions: energy, food, travel, water, resource use, and nature. The pilot project proved to be a great success, empowering residents to take environmental action, while lowering their household bills, and getting to know their neighbours.

“I am thrilled that we provided additional funding to extend this project, so that even more residents across the district can get involved. I urge anyone interested to find out more.”

Sarah Burgess, Project Officer from GUCE, added: “We’re delighted to be working once again with Three Rivers District Council to extend the Sustainable Streets programme, which has already delivered so many positive benefits for residents who took part in the pilot. At GUCE, our mission is to put people at the heart of the energy system – helping communities come together to support each other to save money, cut carbon, and generally make life easier. Having worked with the groups from the first round of funding, it has been inspiring to see them connect with each other and work together to live more sustainably and I can't wait to see what ideas these new groups come up with!”

Residents interested in applying to the free Sustainable Streets programme should complete a simple online form.

Find out more about Sustainable Streets by visiting GUCE’s website: https://guce.org.uk/get-involved/