Over £360,000 awarded to climate-friendly causes through Net Zero Villages grant

Nine local organisations are celebrating grant awards, as South Cambridgeshire District Council announces those successful in their bids to receive a share of more than £360,000 available through the Net Zero Villages scheme.

The funding for the scheme was provided by the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, with supplementary funds contributed by the District Council.

In line with the District Council’s ‘Green to our Core’ commitment, the scheme empowers voluntary groups, parish councils and community-minded businesses to tackle climate change by reducing the carbon emissions from community assets, such as village halls, and using nature-based solutions to adapt these buildings for a future with more extreme weather patterns. The grant also welcomed proposals for low carbon transport schemes, such as e-bikes or community shuttle buses.

The following projects will receive funding under the Net Zero Villages Grant:

• Oakington Parish Council will receive £20,395 to install solar panels on the roof of their pavilion building. Owned and operated by the parish council, the pavilion is the primary social and sporting facility in the village and is regularly used by community groups. Notably, the building plays host to Oakington’s popular Repair Cafes.
• Horningsea Parish Council will receive £20,682 to purchase an electric cargo bike for community use, and to install solar panels and a battery storage system to charge it. The project will also provide a secure, accessible storage location for the bike at the Jubilee Gardens as well as an accessibility ramp. The parish council will install LED lighting in the village’s community building and energy-efficient handwashing facilities.
• Over Community Association will receive £30,039 to install solar panels on the roof of Over Community Centre. The renewable energy generated will reduce the running costs of the building as well as reducing its carbon footprint.
• Shepreth Parish Council will receive £62,080 to improve the energy efficiency of Shepreth Village Hall by installing external wall insulation on the older solid brick part of the building, cavity wall insulation in the two more recent extensions to the building, and loft insulation in the suspended ceiling above the main hall space. The parish council will also replace the current single pane windows with double glazed units.
• Ickleton Lion Community Pub will receive £22,258 to improve the energy efficiency of the pub building by installing new radiators and programable thermostats, loft insulation and draft-proof loft hatches and secondary glazing to 24 windows, and replacement of internal and external lighting with LEDs. The Lion is the last remaining pub in the village and was taken into community ownership in December 2023.
• Cottenham Community Centre will receive £75,000 to re-purpose their underused studio space into an accessible, comfortable, well-used community space. Insulation to be added to the walls, roof and floor; double-glazed windows and rooflights will replace existing single-glazed windows and LED lighting with censor controls to replace current older lighting.
• Friends of Histon & Impington Community will receive £55,000 to replace their community minibus with a new electric vehicle to be used as a community shuttle bus, and as transport for local groups and organisations.
• Fen Drayton Village Hall will receive £26,644 to install solar panels and battery storage. To install a suspended ceiling in the hall to reduce volume of the room requiring heating.
• St John the Evangelist Church in Waterbeach will receive £64,945 to replace the current expired roof of their community room with a green roof, which will be supported by a rainwater recycling system.

Cllr Brian Milnes, Lead Member for the Environment at the District Council, said:  "It’s fantastic to see over £360,000 awarded to local projects that are making a real difference in tackling climate change in South Cambridgeshire. The Net Zero Villages grant has empowered our communities to take meaningful action, helping to create a greener, more sustainable future. This funding supports the incredible efforts of local groups working hard to reduce carbon emissions and protect our environment for generations to come."

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Mayor, Dr Nik Johnson, said: "The Net Zero villages initiative is a vital programme empowering communities with the funding they need to make environmentally friendly changes and achieve our national Carbon Net Zero goals. Thank you to everyone who has applied for funding and has started thinking about the positive impact they can make - from nature-based solutions and retrofitting community buildings to enhancing public transport. These projects pave the way to reduce our carbon footprint and safeguard our region for the future."

The scheme opened for applications in early December 2024 and has been significantly oversubscribed, with 20 applications received and a total of £780,909 requested. To allow these nine top-scoring applications to receive the full amounts requested for their projects, the District Council has provided nearly £15,000 of supplementary funding.

The level of interest demonstrates the continued enthusiasm of local groups and their capacity to deliver community-led decarbonisation projects. South Cambridgeshire District Council is proud to provide villages with a package of support for their grassroots responses to the climate and ecological emergencies – including the annual Zero Carbon Communities Grant, a quarterly community climate newsletter and events to facilitate networking and knowledge-sharing between community groups, such as the annual Local Climate Action Conference. There is information on the council website to support parish councils in building a climate action plan and forming their response to the biodiversity duty.

For those in the district who were unsuccessful in securing funding from Net Zero Villages, applications will open in May for South Cambridgeshire District Council’s annual Zero Carbon Communities Grant. This grant offers up to £15,000 to community groups and parish councils to deliver projects which reduce carbon emissions or increase community engagement on climate issues and promote sustainable behaviour change.