SHDC announces how it will spend £1m funding - supporting economy and reducing carbon

Plans have been released for how South Hams District Council plans to spend the £1m funding announced recently to help support the economy and reduce carbon emissions in the district.

SHDC’s Executive Committee met on 26 January 2023 and agreed how recent funding of over £1m would be used to support a wide range of ambitious programmes committed to creating ‘Better Lives for All’ for residents, communities and businesses across the district. 

The overall programme which will run for three years will see up to £257,856 spent in its first year with the remaining funding spent by the end of the 2024/2025 financial year. 

The committee has agreed to a number of programmes and projects within four key priority areas:

Active and inclusive travel for all. The council has agreed to the commissioning of a Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) to improve both walking and cycling routes across the district. The outcomes of the LCWIP will inform the council’s next steps in developing more inclusive and eco-friendly travel provisions and infrastructure. 

The council’s roll out if its specialist advisers programme will see wider business support and consultancy across the South Hams business community. Advisers will work with organisations to set out pathways to decarbonise their activities and for local construction businesses, help ensure they are ahead of the curve in order to meet future planning and building regulations. Support will also be given to Community Energy Groups to enhance their important work in ensuring energy efficiency. 

Feasibility studies and future planning of local marine activities and provisions will help to support the decarbonisation of the local marine economy. Projects will include work with the Lower Dart Ferry, Salcombe Water Taxis and Salcombe Harbour to develop new technologies and processes in order to reduce carbon emissions and promote positive climate change.

Partnerships will be developed across the local agriculture sector, knowledge organisations, businesses and tech companies to develop a community of research and development in order to ensure the culture of regenerative farming. Work will include the roll out of programmes with organisations such as the Devon Agri-Tech Alliance to move farming into new sustainable ways of working.

A new distribution project will also help increase opportunities for locally produced food and drink to reach local marketplaces, reducing the carbon footprint. 

Councillor Hilary Bastone, Deputy Leader of South Hams District Council, said: “We are delighted to be able to share more detailed plans of how this important funding will be used in the next three years. 

“These important projects within our marine, agriculture, transport and wider business sectors will continue to drive our work in ensuring ‘Better Lives for all’ for the entire South Hams community now and in the future.”

These are only some of the range of projects currently planned with some activities set to begin in January, and others scheduled to run from April 2023 until the end of March 2025.

You can watch the full Executive meeting online here: www.youtube.com/user/SouthHamsCouncil

The next scheduled Executive meeting is Thursday, 2 March, at 10am. 

Details can be found here: www.southhams.gov.uk/Executive