Category: Transition Town Hastings

Transition Town Hastings ~ Meeting Minutes 20/09/17

25th September 2017

Projects

Garden:

  • explanation of garden project – where we are at
  • Open Day 22nd Oct 12-3pm
  • Alex explained that Quakers do small grants (£400) we could use towards a water butt – we would have to raise another 400 as the cost is 800.

Energy Group:

  • Ken reported 3 ideas being explored
  1. Hastings Pier – to make it an electric generator/ renewably run
  2. twinning with German town Schwerte
  3. Wasn’t sure ? But maybe Anthony’s idea of mapping all the solar power in the town and connecting it?

 

Chris connected with someone from Wave Energy – talked about wave machine on pier.

Possibility of a feasibility study for a scheme across Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings. Approx cost of study is £10,000. Chris going to look into it more – connect with Richard and ESC! Think Chris will be attending the next Energy group meeting.

ACTION: Karen – add Chris to mailing list (DONE)

 

Packaging:

Karen explained the project we had in mind, starting with survey to assess the current situation with local food takeaway businesses

Possibility of affinity scheme to get a discount from eco packing companies with a mass order

Problems we came across were needing more people and support but also, what would happen to the packaging when disposed of? Compostable materials cannot go in landfill waste or recycling.

This lead to a discussion about food waste collection in Hastings and the petition to ESCC by the Green Party.

Should TTH partner with GP to help push this forward before pursuing the packaging project?

ACTION: Chris to send Karen info from Judy Scott (GP Secretary) about food waste petition and Karen to mail out to members

Ken mentioned the new sports complex proposed for Filsham Valley area – could this be a good place for an anaerobic digester?

ESCC contract with Kier has come to an end – good opportunity to push for alternative waste disposal?

 

Janice: unsure about what should happen to all the recycling – not always clear. Info from Veolia trip would be useful – FORGOT TO MENTION THERE IS SOME INFO ON THE TTH WEBSITE!

 

Events

AGM:

  • 21st Oct 10-12 @ White Rock Hotel
  • speakers: Gabriel Carlyle from Fossil Free Hastings/Divest East Sussex
  • possibly TT Deal
  • Sherry; are we sending out official invites to HBC and local councillors/stakeholders?

Energy Day:

  • 1066 energy campaign day on the Stade 10th Sept
  • not much said on this but some attendees were there – said it was good, collected some signatures for FFH

Film Nights:

  • after AGM now – hoping to get someone to volunteer to organise
  • Felicity and Richard suggested showing new Al Gore film – maybe first and second
  • Sassie suggested ‘We the Uncivilised’ – really good but makers want £100 to show film and give a talk Q&A. We could take donations/small charge on the door again?

Other:

  • Felicity – Hastings Supports Refugees event organised for 27th Sept ‘Hastings Debates’ hoping to be a regular event. Would help the interconnection of groups in Hastings. TTH to promote. ACTION – Felicity to send digital copy of poster to Karen who will share with mailing list

 

  • Alex; Quakers event at Friends Meeting House Sat 7th Oct (evening), ‘preparing people for the next economic collapse’
  • plenary session and Q&A inviting 4 groups to speak including TTH
  • focus on resilience

ACTION: Sherry to send info to core group

 

A.O.B

 

Ken – Ore CLT & Heart of Hastings CLT, Old Power Station Site in Ore Valley. Bill Dunster (eco housing guy) involved

Feasibility study to connect greenway from hastings station to Ore Valley (is this correct I can’t read Chris’ writing!?)

 

Old bathing pool site (west St Leonards) up for sale – perfect for a CLT – do we know anyone in that area? Encourage community in that area to set up a CLT. HBC have £200,000 sitting in the bank to be spent on CLT’s – already given money to HoH CLT and Ore CLT

 

ACTION: Karen speak to Mat and Tom and contact HBC to ask for an info pack on the site and send to Ken.

 

Discussion about Eco Pods for the homeless. Empty properties in Hastings

 

Sherry: Well-Being event this weekend. Looking for case studies of people being brought together in a positive way – HSR picnic? Felicity?

 

Summary of Actions

 

CHRIS P: send Karen info from Judy Scott about food waste campaign

KAREN: add Chris R to mailing list (done), mail out food waste petition info to members of this meeting & a Mailchimp to gather support, send out Hastings Debates promo to mailing list, speak to Mat & Tom about bathing pool site and contact HBC to request info pack

FELICITY: email Hastings Debates poster to Karen

SHERRY: send info about Quakers event to core team

 

Meeting Adjourned.

Next Meeting tbc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Save the date! 1066 Energy Campaign Launch

7th August 2017

Join us for our Big Happy Sun-day on Sunday 10th September 10am–4pm, outside the Stade Hall in Hastings Old Town. A day of family fun and celebration as we launch the 1066 Energy Campaign for Local Energy.

The jam packed day will include free interactive games for children such as solar boat making, cycle powered smoothies, toy car racing and our solar cinema! This will run alongside fun for all the family such as a morning salute to the sun yoga session, music, singing, massage, giveaways and more.

Transition Town Hastings is part of the group launching the 1066 Energy campaign for local energy to power the local economy.

Contact kate@energisesussexcoast.co.uk for more details or visit www.energisesussexcoast.co.uk

Flourishing community garden

20th July 2017

Thanks to all the hard work of our volunteers the community garden at the station is flourishing. The sunflowers are starting to appear as well as Cosmos, Cornflowers, Honeysuckle and Lavender and much more. We’ve lost a few things to the wildlife but we’re more than happy to share! In fact we encourage the local residents to help themselves. Get down to the garden and see if there’s anything ready – courgettes are looking good…

Our visit to Hollingdean Materials Recovery Facility

19th July 2017


A truly fascinating and educational morning was spent by 14 Transition Town Hastings folk at the Hollingdean Materials Recovery Facility in Brighton last week.

We found out they don’t actually recycle Hastings and Rother recycling waste – it goes to Crayford in Kent!


Before the sorting begins

We did get to see how they process all of Brighton’s recycling, as well as fly tipping and commercial waste and learn about what they do and don’t recycle.

They employ  a team of people to sort waste as well as relying on machinery to filter out paper, steel and aluminium. Machines suck up paper and steel cans get pulled away by magnets. They mostly sell on paper, steel and aluminium made into large bails and sometimes shipped to China!

Seems we need more industries in the UK prepared to buy recycled materials to manufacture products. At present, more than 50% of materials recycled in the UK are exported and often manufactured into down-graded products – instead of becoming raw materials for UK industry.

According to our guide at Hollingdean many food companies are reluctant to use recycled plastics because of fears that people will not buy their products (like plastic milk bottles that look slightly grey).

Non recyclables collected at Hollingdean end up in the Newhaven Incinerator down the road where energy is generated and fed into the National Grid.

Also at Hollingdean and other Veolia sites they are working with a new (and secret) technology to recycle coffee cups.

We think every school pupil in the country should visit these sites to find out what really happens to our waste.

NEW – relaunched energy group!

10th July 2017

Following the Community Energy Fortnight speaker event, the relaunched transition community energy group met on 6th July at the White Rock Hotel. The meeting was on an appropriately beautiful sunny day in the White Rock hotel which overlooks the sea and generates some of its power with solar panels on the roof. In this spot, we couldn’t help but be inspired by the potential we have locally to use the energy of the sun, sea and wind to power our town.

The group concentrated on visioning what we would love to see in our local area, with ideas ranging from becoming ‘Silicon Seaside’ and encourage cutting edge renewable energy tech innovation to the local area, to becoming the first seaside town with a pier powered on renewable energy. Please take a look at the minutes to read the full list of ideas. We would love to hear your thoughts, feedback or any useful contacts. Even better we’d love to hear them in person at the next meeting!

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 10th August, 7:30pm – 9pm at the White Rock Hotel where we will be voting on our ideas and selecting a few to start progressing. The meeting is open to anyone that would like to get involved in community energy, or just learn a bit more. More ideas can be added to the list so please get in contact if you’d like to add anything and come along to the meeting. If you are thinking about getting involved then please do! This is an exciting time in the world of community energy and there’s so much potential in Hastings and St Leonards for interesting projects which really make a difference.

For more information please email kate@energisesussexcoast.co.uk

Another Swap Shop event at Stade Hall

29th June 2017

Yay! We’re running another Swap Shop at the Stade Hall on July 15th.
With energy advice cafe, Make Food community chef and entertainment by Hastings Voice Squad (local community choir).

These are special community events, not to be missed. Lots of great things to take away and a chance to meet new people and share the good vibes.

See the event page for more details.

TTH trip to Dungeness Power Station

6th June 2017

By Linda Jeal

Given the increasing concern that there is internationally about our access to energy and the environmental impact of certain raw materials, it was with great interest that a group from Transition Town Hastings visited Dungeness B Power Station run by EDF on 19th May. EDF operates two types of reactors in the UK. One type is Pressurised Water Reactor, the other, such as Dungeness B & most of the UK reactors, are Advanced Gas – cooled reactors. It is sited next to Dungeness A, which is in the process of being decommissioned. Spent fuel rods are transported by rail to Sellafield for storage.

Security was reassuringly rigorous, both before we were accepted on the tour and during our time going around the plant, including the opportunity to meet armed specialist police assigned to the facility. Health and Safety requirements were also strictly adhered to and great care was taken to ensure our safety as we toured around. We were also treated to a celebratory cake as Alison, who organised the trip was the 20,000 visitor.

The Interactive Visitor’s Centre, where we initially met, was very informative. The session was started with a talk, supported by a power point adapted from the Eco Schools website, to highlight the need for the efficient use of resources in all areas of life including the need to “reuse/recycle” and save water and energy resources by using these effectively. There was an explanation of the production of nuclear energy and the running of a plant. There was also a section where the environmental impact, land resources needed and CO2 footprint of a range of energy sources including renewables were compared. The main message was that in the UK, in our particular circumstances, that a mixture of methods both renewable and nuclear was the most beneficial. There is not, however, a clear solution at present to the problem of the final storage of all levels of nuclear waste. (it is possible to find very informative presentations about all these issues on the Eco Schools website)

During the tour we received a very informative presentation regarding the production of nuclear energy and questions were answered, as far as we could judge, thoroughly and honestly.

After the tour, the opinion was that we could thoroughly recommend taking the opportunity to tour the facility.