CAIRN

Overview

The CAIRN (Climate Action in Rural North East) project aims to deliver energy advice and support community energy projects in rural North East England and is funded by the Climate Action Fund of the National Lottery Community Fund. Project strands include:

Community energy projects: Supporting local groups to establish energy initiatives, inspired by the development of Northumberland Community Energy Ltd (NCEL).
Carbon assessments: Whole-community carbon assessments will be conducted and data analysed to identify opportunities for reducing emissions and improving energy efficiency in homes, businesses, and shared spaces.
Free energy advice for households: 500 households in Northumberland and Durham will be offered free, tailored energy and fuel advice, delivered through expert home visits.

Find out more on the Innovation Portal

Training and skills development: Workshops and resources will be provided to train residents on energy efficiency, renewable technologies, and retrofitting.
Engaging young people: The partners will work with schools and youth groups to inspire the next generation to take action against the climate crisis.
Learning capture and evaluation: NICRE will shape the development of the project, provide ongoing evaluation, and capture learnings throughout. Updates will be shared on our innovation portal.

Background

CAIRN will run until 2028. It launched in November 2024 at Community Action Northumberland's (CAN) Annual General Meeting where attendees were asked to share an action they could do to be more energy efficient - see photograph right.

CAN, Durham Community Action (DCA), the Rural Design Centre (RDC) and NICRE have been working together in effective partnership and on a range of activities for a number of years. CAN and DCA have enduring links and trust within their rural communities and with stakeholders, whilst RDC and NICRE bring technical and academic expertise. In particular, the project builds on the successes of two projects led by CAN:

The Community Spaces Partnership project, which brought three ACRE member organisations and NICRE together to provide funding and wraparound support to village halls and other buildings in their transitions towards net zero.
The development of Northumberland Community Energy Ltd, an energy cooperative from which learnings and resources are being drawn, to explore the feasibility of developing a similar initiative in Durham.

Expected outcomes

Focusing on small communities across rural Northumberland and Durham, the project delivers direct household advice and community support. The project will enable rural communities to take charge of their own futures with respect to energy and climate action. The long-term vision is to put rural Northeast England at the forefront of community-driven energy action. The multi-faceted approach will provide direct support to households, rural communities, young people, and community buildings at the heart of rural life.