Info from Robert Uhlig:
Bude Climate Partnership is celebrating today after being awarded £1,995,503.67 in funding from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Climate Action Fund for a range of community projects that address climate change in the wider Bude area.
Called ‘Resilient Bude – Protecting Our Future’, the programme of projects will build long-term
economic, social and environmental resilience against the impacts of climate change on the
communities of Bude-Stratton and 10 surrounding rural parishes that make up the Bude Community
Network Area.
The single largest project is a Sustainable Tourism Strategy that collaborates with partner Bude Area
Tourist Board to unite businesses, the community and visitors to work together on building climate
resilience and mitigating climate impacts in local tourism, which accounts for around 50% of the
area’s carbon footprint.
Robert Uhlig, Project Director of Bude Climate Partnership, said: “Bude’s coastline, environment
and wildlife are central to our community’s sense of place, and our wellbeing and prosperity. With
70% of local businesses dependent on tourism, it’s imperative in a rapidly changing climate that we
work together to ensure the sustainability of a sector that employs 40% of our workforce and defines
our way of life.”
Linda Winstanley, Chair of Bude Area Tourist Board, said: “Bude Area Tourist Board is excited that
the Sustainable Tourism Project will enable us to make Bude one of the UK’s most climate aware and
sustainable visitor destinations. The project will boost the local economy and help us to achieve our
community’s goal of transitioning to Net Zero.”
Another major project addresses the community’s response to the impact of climate change on Bude
through a Shoreline Engagement Project. Much of Cornwall’s coast faces considerable change due to
sea-level rise in the next decades, but Bude is particularly sensitive to the impacts.
Robert Uhlig said: ‘In effect, we’re the UK’s Maldives: idyllic and beautiful, but facing an existential
and imminent threat to our way of life due to sea-level rise. We’ve already seen the effects of climate
change in Bude’s record temperatures for the southwest last summer and Storm Eunice’s toppling of
the iconic tree in the heart of our town, seen on national and international TV news bulletins last
winter. This funding will help our community develop a plan for adapting to the very considerable
threat of sea level rise on our shoreline so that we can protect all that we cherish in our town, our
environment and community.”
Another project, delivered in collaboration with partner Community Energy Plus, will fund an Energy
Adviser to provide free, independent help to Bude-area residents to improve the energy efficiency of
their housing for cosier homes that are both cheaper to heat and with lower carbon emissions.
Three other projects – a Library of Things, a Community Growing Scheme and a Community
Storytelling Project to share memories of Bude and collaborate for the future – provide other ways
of helping the community build climate resilience and reduce its carbon footprint. The projects will
be overseen by a further partner, Bude-Stratton Town Council, as the grant holder and lead partner.
The Climate Action Fund is a ten-year £100 million fund from The National Lottery Community Fund
that aims to reduce the carbon footprint of communities and support community-led movements
that demonstrate what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change.
Nick Gardner, Head of Climate Action at The National Lottery Community Fund,
said: “Communities have a big role to play in tackling climate change locally and ultimately helping to
move the UK towards net zero. Thanks to National Lottery players, we are able to support the
Resilient Bude project, which offers an exciting opportunity to demonstrate how communities can
work together to build resilience to localised threats such as that of sea-level rise, at the same time
as prioritising reducing their own emissions.”
Thanks to National Lottery players, since 2017, The National Lottery Community Fund has awarded
£410 million through more than 7,000 grants that involve environmental action, including action on
waste and consumption, energy, transport, food, and the natural environment. National Lottery
players raise more than £30 million each week across the UK for good causes.