Background Information
In this section we are aiming to highlight websites offering a broad range of information including government grants, options for reducing energy consumption and in some cases provide surveys and identify installers.
Sustainable Energy Options report
A Sustainable Energy Options report for Ashwell is now available. This report was funded through a £39,600 grant from the Great British Energy Community Fund and prepared by Scene Connect Ltd. Using public information the report assesses energy consumption in the village, the profile of housing stock and options for community based renewable energy generation. None of the larger scale projects explored are viable due to lack of grid capacity with viability dependent on an upgrade of the local grid. However, there are recommendations around small scale and individual opportunities for renewable energy production and energy saving with potential, over time, to reduce both energy costs and carbon footprint.
A presentation, based on their report, was given by Scene Connect Ltd. to a public meeting, attended by over 50 Ashwell parishioners, on the 29th Sept 2026 is available here.
Grants
For simplicity included here is the government website Find energy grants for your home (Help to Heat) - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) relating to available grants. Funding is not delivered directly by the government, but through installers, local authorities, energy companies and other bodies.
General resources
Close to home North Herts District council has developed a climate change strategy
North Herts Council Climate Change Strategy and is one of the partners in the Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership Hertfordshire Climate Change and Sustainability Partnership (hccsp.org.uk).
As part of HCCSP Hertfordshire Retrofit Strategy (PDF 1.23MB) and supporting appendices (PDF 810KB) was published in July 2025. This strategy aligns the wide range of retrofit activity already underway – across public and private buildings, domestic and commercial sectors, training, and supply chains. It provides a practical framework to:
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Build trust in retrofit
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Attract long-term investment
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Grow the local green skills base
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Enable action at household, organisational and county scale.
North Herts Citizens Advice have published an Advice Booklet for Household Energy Consumers in North Herts covering a range of energy topics:- Understanding Bills, Struggling to Pay Energy Bills, Financial Help Government and Energy Companies, Making your home cheaper to heart, Green Energy, Home Improvement Grants and Energy Saving Tips.
Citizens Advice also have a slide pack on energy saving https://northhertscab.org.uk/energy-saving-ws/ and range of resources:-
The Centre for Alternative Technology (CAT) is a long-standing organisation and great source of reliable information about almost every type of energy efficiency – insulation and heating, renewable energy technologies and water conservation. Much of this CAT have researched and in some cases developed themselves. This is an excellent starting point to investigate approaches to reduce your carbon footprint. https://cat.org.uk/info-resources/free-information-service/. A path to zerocarbon Britain is also available from CAT
CAT-ZCB Site – Executive Summary (summary).
The Energy Savings Trust https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/about-us/ have developed a number of helpful resources on heating your home, insulation, generating renewable electricity and buying energy efficient products.
Fee based Energy surveys
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Green heat coop https://www.greenheatcoop.co.uk – based in Royston is focused on North HertsGreen Heat Coop supports households in seeking low carbon solutions, providing impartial, independent, and tailored advice on low carbon home heating and heat pump installation working with local suppliers. There are some useful resources here on energy efficiency, heat pumps and funding - including a link to the Renewable Energy Hub. The Renewable Energy Hub | About Us another excellent resource for a wide range of options on power generation and heat pumps. A future offering will be for a retrofit survey - possibly available in 2025.
Other companies are also offering fee-based retrofitting/energy efficiency survey providing suggestions on efficient ways of reducing energy consumption. They may also help with co-ordinating with local tradesmen and suppliers. Examples of such companies include Super Homes Beds and Herts https://superhomes.org.uk/beds-herts/ and Ecofurb Ecofurb | Plan your retrofit project with an Ecofurb Plan
