The Project is an ongoing local venture that centres on North Leigh a typical small village in rural West Oxfordshire. The Village has around 1000 domestic properties of mixed design and era as well as a small industrial estate, primary school, church and a few other public amenities. North Leigh has a pro-active Parish Council who recognised that something could be done at the community level to stimulate carbon reducing actions. An interested resident of North Leigh, who had attended one of our presentations, contacted us with the ambition of making North Leigh the most energy efficient village in the UK.
In consultation with TVEC, it was decided that the best way in which to meet this eventual aim would be to measure the energy efficiency of the village through a methodical, scientific and replicable approach that would allow a comparison to be made with other villages in the UK following the same methodology. It was decided that the Energy Label device was the most appropriate vehicle in which to do this, being a recognisable and easily understood method of displaying energy efficiency.
TVEC and the project steering group, in conjunction with the Energy Saving Trust, agreed the methodology for the implementation of this label and it was defined in a feasibility study finalised at the beginning of 2006. The project is now in its third round of data collection, and as set out in the methodology, is utilising meter readings from participating households to quantify carbon emissions for the village. This project is being part- financed by the EUROPEAN COMMUNITY WEST OXFORDSHIRE NETWORK LEADER+ 2000-2006 programme, showing the value associated with the project and its significance at a European level.
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