Could your street be Lewisham's first eco street?

One of the Lewisham Green Group budget amendments that we got through earlier this year was money to run a street-by-street energy reduction scheme. The pilot programme has been announced this week and the Council is looking for a road in the borough to become Lewisham’s first ‘Eco Street’.

Residents have until Wednesday 10th September to submit their street's entry, saying why they should be the lucky eco street. So roll up Ladywell residents, get speaking to your neighbours and submit an entry. Although the Council press release dumbs it down a bit with talk of an 'environmental makeover', what this programme should (at least as we proposed it) be primarily about is insulating all the participating properties in street (economies of scale bringing down the cost etc) and other measures to reduce both your carbon footprint and your fuel bills.

You can download the application form from here.

The only criteria is that nominated streets should have at least 100 households, preferably made up of more than one type of dwelling (ie, houses, conversion and purpose-built flats). [Personally I can't see any reason why 2 adjoining small streets couldn't submit a joint entry, but I'll check that].

Residents on the street will receive:
- A free energy assessment for each home
- A free pack of environmentally friendly ‘goodies’ for each household
- Financial support for measures to make their home more sustainable and to reduce energy bills
- Information and advice on how to reduce, reuse and recycle

Improvements for the street will include:
- Local clean-up events
- A ‘sustainable living’ event for the street
­- Development of a car club for the street
- Opportunities to support local wildlife and other biodiversity improvements

You may also be interested in taking a look at the Council's Greener Home Guide.