We are delighted to announce that the Ouse Valley Cares Project has won £150,000 from the National Lottery Community Fund to kickstart a project to develop long term resilience across the Ouse Valley to tackle climate change.
As a partner in this project, Chris Rowland, Director of OVESCO, said: “This is fantastic news for community energy generation and low carbon travel, potentially providing new local employment opportunities working in partnership with stakeholders to reduce carbon emissions.”
The development grant will help the partnership investigate, test and develop ways that the Ouse Valley can increase long-term resilience to climate change. The project area follows the river valley downstream from Barcombe, through Lewes and the villages of the lower Ouse Valley, to the large coastal communities of Seaford, Peacehaven and Newhaven.
Detailed research and engagement across the community over the next year will then be used to work up a much larger National Lottery bid – potentially up to £2.5m – to deliver a series of long-lasting projects that help address the climate emergency and help nature flourish.
Ouse Valley CARES – which stands for Climate Action, Resilient Ecosystems, Sustainability – is spearheaded by the South Downs National Park Trust alongside a number of partners, including South Downs National Park Authority, Lewes District Council, Railway Land Wildlife Trust, Transition Town Lewes, Seaford Community Partnership, Community Energy South, OVESCO, 3VA and Sussex Community Development Association.
