We have different circumstances in our Authority but we are not short of opportunities, commented one active reader of the The Barnsley Learning History (which can be downloaded from our project website here)
The reader went on to think about how the fearful attitudes to district heating and biomass in her organisation might be addressed. Another reader cited lack of expertise as a problem – particularly among the property services division. Though he could identify buildings in his authority very similar to those described in the History, and there was high-level support for carbon reduction in his authority, the confidence and expertise was lacking and this was a major barrier. Noting that ‘there is an inevitability about wood heat for large buildings’ he went on to think about how local wood chip might be maximised. A few readers started to think about getting high-level agreement to systematically start replacing existing boilers (gas/oil) with woodchip boilers. Another commented that he would explore the whole-life-costing idea more and try to work to push that.
Part of the Barnsley Learning History Poster
The ‘disinterested’ Environment Health people in Barnsley was perceived as a lucky break by one reader. In his Authority boiler emissions, public opinion and biodiversity were all areas of concern when it came to biomass. The importance of the study tour struck chords with a couple of readers: one remembered a similar useful learning visit he experienced; another noted a possible action might be to arrange one to Austria. Another reader wrote a story of when he had been involved in the development of a Biomass Heating scheme. Though it had started well, the project had lost momentum when the key champion retired. Continuity he remarked was vital for complex projects like Biomass.
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