Bury Free Press Dec 4th 2008                                

MEDIEVAL VILLAGE SEES GREEN FUTURE

BRITAIN’S best preserved medieval village has taken its first step into the front line of the fight to save the planet.
An ambitious bid to make Lavenham more self-sufficient is going ahead after winning support at a meeting attended by almost 100 people.
Volunteers are now looking into ways of giving the community a greener future including alternative energy sources, fuel crops, produce and services, and council planning policies.
The plan is to make Lavenham a “transition” village – reducing its carbon footprint by being less reliant on fuel and food from outside the area.
Carroll Reeve, one of the villagers spearheading the move, said a steering committee had been set up after the meeting.
A questionnaire is also being distributed to all residents to find out their views, build up a picture of their current lifestyles, and recruit more supporters.
At the meeting environmental expert John Busby, a retired engineer from Lawshall, explained the transition scheme and the global situation.
Council representatives including Suffolk County Council leader Jeremy Pembroke, Babergh district councillor Philip Gibson, and Lavenham Parish Council chairman Lyn Gurling were also there.
Mr Reeve said: “The consensus view is that Lavenham should take this initiative further.
“It is seen as a long haul and the outcome and time-frame cannot be determined, but action is considered necessary and now.”
Committee members are starting to look at a list of specific topics including:
 Growing fuel like wood or straw to provide heat and perhaps electricity.
 Local food production, for instance allotments, shared garden schemes, or a market garden and encouraging local shops to take part.
 Technology including solar panels, making wood briquettes, small wind turbines, and heat pumps where heat is extracted from 60 metres down in the earth. Introducing a local trade token to encourage people to shop locally.
The transition movement was set up in Ireland in 2005. It describes itself as a social experiment on a massive scale and aims to support communities taking action against the twin threats of peak oil production and climate change.