Hampshire announces community EV charger boost
Residents across Hampshire are set to benefit from the introduction of around 17,000 electric vehicle charge points, with new infrastructure set to be installed in local areas where ‘off-street’ charging from home is not an option. Find out more on the Hampshire County Council's website.
Food waste truck competition - winning names announced
With over four hundred entries received, see which food waste truck names were chosen.
Petition open until 20 November - find out more and have your say!
From extreme weather to economic shocks and security risks, climate and nature breakdown are placing the UK under growing pressure. Yet the public has never been clearly told the scale of these threats. Naturalist and BBC tv presenter Chris Packham has launched a petition calling for an urgent national briefing.
National briefing on climate and nature risks petition
BBC 'Indepth' - Heat pumps work for me but they are not yet a money saver
BBC journalist Evan Davis explores heat pumps, reflecting on his own experience and that of one UK family.
Check out the BBC heat pump article
Eat it, don’t chuck it
Do you find yourself regularly chucking away food? Food wastage is not only bad for the environment, but essentially, we’re throwing away our hard-earned cash! Check out 15 ways to stop wasting food and drink by Money Saving Expert
North Hants repair Café saved 2,600kg of waste from landfill
It's wonderful to see the of work North Hampshire Repair Café volunteers featured on the BBC News website (Hampshire and Isle of Wight).
They are also featured in our case study section
Blog: Making your home warmer and helping the environment - Rayner Mayer
The Conference of the Parties to reduce Climate Change (COP 30) was held in Belem, Brazil in Noveember 2025 and reiterated the need for further action to reduce the environmental impact of our energy use. Whilst transport is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, our other major use of energy is in our homes primarily for heating during the winter and, to a much lesser extent, for lighting and cooking.
To create a warmer home, the first step is to undertake a DIY warmth check to identify the sources of heat loss and presence of insulation which should take no longer than 15 to 20 minutes. This should include windows, doors, loft and external walls. Another source of information is the Energy Performance certificate of your home which can be consulted at www.gov.uk/find-energy-certificate though it may not be up to date, If this certificate does not exist, check that of adjacent properties of a similar type and size.
With this knowledge you can have an informed dialogue with a grant provider and also check your eligibility for an insulation grant. Eligibility criteria include living in a dwelling rated D to G on the Energy Performance scale and having either a low income or being on benefits. The current available insulation grant scheme is ECO4 for which you should contact your energy supplier and a Warm Home Grant administered by your local authority.
Measures costing less than £10 and easy to implement include:
- Fridge/freezer thermometer to check thermostat settings
- Radiator key to bleed radiators of gases due to corrosion between water and radiator
- Self-adhesive draught stripper to seal windows and doors
- Placing reflective foil behind radiators to reflect heat back into room
Medium cost measures include:
- Increasing insulation level to 300mm by adding material like mineral wool
- Insulating the cavity between inner and outer courses of the external walls if house built post 1945
High cost measures include:
- Changing single glazed to double glazed windows
About this guest-blog author
Rayner Mayer was energy adviser to Scottish HydroElectric for 11 years and to EU’s Energy Directorate for six years. He was coordinator of the European Study on Transforming the market for energy efficient electrical heating/cooling appliances and founder Chair of the European Heat Pump Association for six years from 2000. He has written a monthly blog on Climate Change for Eversley Parish Magazine since 2021.
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