IT is uplifting to read in your edition of September 3 that St Akelda’s plans to install solar panels on the church’s south aisle roof have gained not only the approval of the church authorities but also Craven District Council’s planning committee. This says a lot for the far-sighted efforts of St Akelda’s Parochial Church Council and congregation in bringing this project together, without detriment to an ancient and beautiful building.

The contribution to the church’s finances will be welcome to the PCC. The contribution to the global problem of climate change will be the inspiration it gives the rest of us to make the transition to a more sustainable, less polluting society.

Community action is key to bringing about the changes we need to make. Our region is well equipped with the landscape and geography to take advantage of distributed energy generation and it is in our hands to rise to the challenge of making the most of local resources while conserving the unique beauty of our landscape and ancient buildings. Settle Hydro and Giggleswick School’s wind turbine are other examples in the community of renewable energy projects that respect their environment while contributing to local self-sufficiency.

Settle and area Action for Climate Emergency, ACE Settle, wants to support this effort by realising the potential for renewable energy generation on private, commercial and community buildings, in our fields and rivers and for the local community to participate in shared ownership. Ultimately numerous small to medium projects can be brought together to create a Local Area Energy Plan, LAEP, bringing financial benefit to the host community. By combining our efforts with our neighbours we can contribute to a more resilient national energy supply, better able to cope with the extremes brought on by climate change, and contributing to the government’s target to achieve net zero carbon emissions nationally by 2050.

ACE Settle are planning a series of events as well as articles in local publications to promote this initiative and would welcome ideas as well as active participation in achieving a green transition in our town and surrounding villages.

If you want to help you can join in on one of our Green Cafe’s, held monthly, the next one is on September 12 starting at 10:45am on Zoom or contact us through our website http://acesettleandarea.org/ or our facebook page Ace Settle.

Sandy Tod

Settle

St Akelda’s Church, solar array