HOUSE & HOME

South Somerset District Council and Lendology helping homeowners to invest in home upgrades

THE CURRENT energy crisis is impacting on everyone along with the rising cost of living. Making sure homes are as energy efficient as possible is key to retaining heat and reducing the cost of heating your home.

South Somerset District Council work in partnership with Lendology CIC, a Social Enterprise lender, to provide council funded loans to homeowners for home repairs, improvements, energy efficiency and renewable energy measures. More than just a lender, Lendology work in partnership with local organisations such as Love your home | Centre for Sustainable Energy (cse.org.uk)

to make sure that people have access to impartial energy advice, grant eligibility assessments and home ‘retrofit’ support.

Lendology disrupt traditional lending with their decisions powered by people, for people. They work with a wide range of homeowners to understand their unique financial situation, and everyone pays the same fixed interest rate regardless of the amount borrowed, the term or the financial circumstances.

There are a range of loan products available to suit people who may find it challenging to borrow elsewhere, for instance those who are self-employed, in receipt of benefits, or retired.

Plastic beasts and where to find them

Two stunning sculptures are getting used to their new surroundings after being rehomed by Somerset’s waste collectors.

The eye-catching angler fish and octopus are made entirely from plastic milk bottle tops, created by pupils at Lyngford Park Primary School in Taunton as part of recycling project.

The fantastic plastic beasts earned the school a runners-up prize in a national recycling promotion competition and have now been rehomed by SUEZ, the Somerset Waste Partnership (SWP) waste collection contractor.

After a stint together in Priorswood library, the pair were looking for long-term homes and SUEZ has been happy to oblige.

The angler fish is now in the SUEZ depot office in Bridgwater, while the octopus has travelled across the border to a new home in the East Devon depot.

The handover was also a chance for pupils to get a closer look at one of the fleet of 200 waste vehicles which every week complete around 350,000 collections across the county.

Nicole Stearn, Art Lead at Lyngford Park Primary said “The children at Lyngford Park are passionate about the environment and this competition gave them a creative opportunity to highlight the problem of plastic pollution. The whole Lyngford community was involved collecting and reusing the bottle tops. The children asked the question to their families ‘What happened to the bottles the tops came from?”

Councillor Sarah Dyke, Chair of the Somerset Waste Board, said: “Getting children enthused and engaged with recycling and sustainability is a key part of what we do.

At 56.2% the Somerset recycling rate is higher than it has ever been. Last year more than 133,000 tonnes of carbon we saved by recycling and reuse across the county.

With its Schools Against Waste project, SWP offers all primary schools in the county free visits from the Carymoor Environmental Trust. Through assemblies and workshops they introduce children to the importance of reducing, reusing and recycling and discuss how to reduce waste at home and school.

Lily Morton, SUEZ’s Somerset Community Liaison Manager said: “We were really impressed by the sculptures the school produced and so when they were looking for a new home our depot managers jumped at the chance to have them on display.

“At SUEZ our vision is to live in a society where there is no more waste. Reuse is an essential component to achieving this and we are so thrilled to support a local school who have really embraced reuse.

“The sculptures are now pride of place in our Bridgwater and East Devon depots for staff and visitors to enjoy and I’ve assured the children they’ve gone to a good new home!”

Any primary schools wanting to request a visit from the SAW team can call 01963 351350 or email education@carymoor .org.uk.

Children with their plastic beast sculptures.