> Why a Renewable Energy Village?

> Who is behind the development?

> What is Eastgate Renewable Energy Village and what will it include?

> The story so far: 2002 – 2009

> What is 'Renewable Energy' and how will it be used?

> Supporting Access to Employment

> What happens next?

Why a Renewable Energy Village?

Back in 2002 the Weardale Task Force agreed that, as part of the wider regeneration of the Dale, Eastgate provided a rare opportunity to create a unique sustainable community that would bring long-term employment for local people, new opportunities for existing Weardale businesses, generate tourism to boost the economy, and provide extensive recreational and learning facilities.

Utilising the renewable energy resources available on-site at Eastgate, the overall vision for the project is to be a demonstration of how renewable energy can be used in a remote working and living community to meet economic and social needs of Weardale, and address environmental challenges, such as climate change and depleting reserves of fossil fuels.

Eastgate Renewable Energy Village aims to be:

• a demonstration project – of all five forms of renewable energy available in the UK
• an eco-friendly community – in which residents will be encouraged to adopt a lifestyle at the forefront of ‘green’, rural living in the UK
• a place of work – where around 350 jobs are expected to be created
• an education resource – with facilities included for schoolchildren and visitors
• a ‘green’ visitor attraction of national significance – providing a hot springs spa utilising the natural hot water to be found beneath the site
• the start of a ‘green’ Dale – by meeting the equivalent of Weardale’s electricity requirements from renewable energy generated at Eastgate
• a national, exemplar project – one that is intended as a unique example to those considering new, mixed-use development elsewhere in the country,

and that in seeking to achieve the above the proposal should become

• a catalyst for regeneration – providing an unparalleled opportunity to transform the fortunes of the Dale.

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Who is behind the development?

Weardale Task Force, originally comprising representatives of Wear Valley District Council, Durham County Council, One NorthEast and Lafarge Cement UK, was set up in 2002 to create a framework to guide the long term and sustained revitalisation of the area through the promotion of a number of regeneration projects aimed at creating employment opportunities and helping to bring about a new future for Weardale.

Regeneration of the former cement works and quarries at Eastgate in Weardale is one of the seven ‘flagship’ projects originally identified by the Task Force.  The Task Force has taken the lead on, and been especially active in respect of, the promotion of the Eastgate site and the preparation of the planning application for its redevelopment.

In April 2009, Durham County Council became a unitary authority, taking on the functions previously administered by the District Councils in the county.  With the abolition of Weardale District Council, the membership of the Task Force is now reduced to three.

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What is Eastgate Renewable Energy Village and what will it include?

In a nutshell, Eastgate Renewable Energy Village will be an eco-friendly community at Eastgate in Weardale, powered by harnessing renewable energy. The entire site, including the actual Renewable Energy Village, Riverside Meadows, The Slopes (hillside) and The Tops (quarry areas) will cover a vast area, greater than 500 football pitches. It will join the town of Bath to become one of only two public hot springs attractions in the UK utilising natural hot water from underground.

An ‘Illustrative Master Plan’ of the Renewable Energy Village has evolved over several years, which has been refined to reflect interests expressed from potential developers and operators and from four rounds of public consultation.  Click here for a labelled image of the proposed layout.

The Renewable Energy Village will encompass a proposed mix of homes, ‘green’ office and workshop accommodation, visitor attractions, a hotel and – the jewel in the crown – a public hot springs spa. It will also include a biomass plant and tilapia fish rearing building. The site will be accessed by road and an extension to the re-established Weardale Railway line. It will be linked to the existing Eastgate by a new village green.

Plans for other parts of the site have also evolved over time.  The Riverside Meadows are to include an outdoor learning centre, riverside footpaths and warm water ponds for fish breading heated by geothermal water. A passenger uplift, potentially in the form of a cable car, will travel across the Slopes providing access to leisure activities. The Slopes also offer the perfect setting for the planned dry toboggan run, new and existing woodland and a rural crafts and rare breeds centre. Click here to view the Overall Site Master Plan.

The dramatic area known as the Tops will be the home of the Green Dragon narrow gauge railway and there will be cycle routes for all abilities connecting to an extensive network of mountain bike trails throughout the site. Information will be available to describe the wildlife, geology and history of the quarries and the surrounding North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Key to the development of Eastgate Renewable Energy Village is the concept that it will be powered by all five forms of ‘land-based’ renewable energy available in the UK, which are wind, solar, hydro, biomass and geothermal. The plans took a giant leap forward when the suspected presence of geothermal energy was confirmed in 2004.

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The story so far: 2002 – 2009

The cement works at Eastgate came into the possession of Lafarge Cement UK in 2001 as a result of the company’s takeover of Blue Circle Cement.  The cement works was in operation from the 1960s and significantly contributed to the Weardale economy until it was closed in 2002. Since then Lafarge has been committed to recreating employment opportunities for local people by finding an innovative new purpose for the site. Lafarge was a founding member of the Weardale Task Force, whose members were committed to utilising renewable energy to help create a sustainable Dale – and so the idea for Eastgate Renewable Energy Village was born.

It was important to the Task Force that local residents had the opportunity to air their views on the proposals, which is why four rounds of public consultation were undertaken between 2002 and 2006 in the run up to the submission of the planning application in March 2008.  After the planning application was submitted, further revisions were made to the proposals in response to comments made, most notably by Natural England.  These focussed largely on the Slopes, not the Renewable Energy Village.  In September 2009, Durham County Council resolved to approve the application subject to the Government Office for the North East not choosing to call in the application, which it subsequently decided not to do.

The proposed hot springs spa will be a major feature of the Renewable Energy Village. It was the Task Force's specialist and design consultants David Lock Associates, who first raised the possibility of a hot springs – if the suspected ‘hot rocks’ way beneath the ground were confirmed, which they were by experts from PB Power and Newcastle University in 2004. A bore hole, drilled to a depth of 995 metres revealed geothermally heated water of temperatures up to 46°C. Further investigations during March 2006 revealed that this water will be suitable for public bathing.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the most significant change since 2002 has been the demolition of the works buildings which took place during the course of 2005.  Restoration work has also taken place in some of the quarry areas, these works being primarily aimed at making cliff faces and tips more safe.

Currently, the Task Force continues its discussions with various existing local businesses and potential new businesses interested in using the 'green' office space or setting up new premises at the Renewable Energy Village – companies like inov-8, On Net Communications and Weardale Fish Farms who all see an eco-friendly future for their businesses at Eastgate.

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What is ‘Renewable Energy’ and how will it be used?

Tests have revealed that the site’s location in Weardale means it has the right mix and availability of resources for it to be powered using renewable energy, which put simply is ‘energy that occurs naturally and repeatedly in the environment and can be harnessed for human benefit.’

You may already be familiar with the principles of generating energy using wind, sunlight (solar) and water (hydro-electric), which will be harnessed on-site. The most significant source of power to be harnessed, however, within the Renewable Energy Village is biomass.  A biomass plant utilising chipped wood left over from local forestry operations will both generate electricity and provide heat for a district heating system.

Geothermal hot water may also be used as part of the district heating system to heat homes and businesses. However its main purpose will be to provide a sustainable public hot springs which visitors will be able to enjoy for many years to come.

Businesses, residents and visitors to the site will be required to respect and maintain its eco-friendly ethos.

The Government has set out goals which outline how various factors, including climate change and the reduction of fossil fuels, present new opportunities for the UK to develop environmentally sustainable, reliable and competitive energy markets, creating new businesses and jobs that will support economic growth. The proposed Eastgate Renewable Energy Village embraces these environmental, economic and social challenges and will help significantly towards securing a long-term sustainable future for the Dale.

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Supporting Access to Employment

Weardale Task Force is committed to ensuring local people have access to the employment opportunities created through the development of Eastgate.

A project was commissioned by the former Wear Valley District Council and the Learning and Skills Council to ensure that skills development and training opportunities are in place to support access to jobs created at Eastgate.   The project included:

• Curriculum development working with partners including:
  • Local Further Education colleges
  • Schools (both primary and secondary)
  • Universities
  • Voluntary Organisations
  • Enterprise Agencies
    
• Consideration of various discipline areas including:
  • Travel and tourism
  • Renewable energies, science and industries
  • Sustainable development
  • Rural and land management
  • Outdoor activities, supervision and management
  • Teaching programs
  • Quarrying
  • Business/enterprise

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What happens next?

Following Durham County Council’s ‘minded to approve’ resolution on 28 September 2009 and the subsequent decision of the Government Office for the North East not to call in the application for consideration at a public inquiry, it is expected that the formal approval notice will be issued by the County Council before Christmas.  The granting of outline planning permission confirms that the uses proposed on the site are acceptable in principle.  Before development can start, however, detailed designs for the individual buildings will need to be submitted for approval by the County Council.  This takes time and means that it will probably be 2011 before construction work starts on the site.

It is intended that a non-profit organisation, likely to include members of the Task Force and local community representation, will be formed if planning permission is given to oversee the future redevelopment and subsequent management of the site. Lafarge Cement UK, the current owner of the site, has agreed to transfer ownership to the new organisation at no charge as part of its commitment to creating a lasting legacy for the Dale. An alternative possibility to the creation of a non-profit organisation is that ownership of the site could be taken on by Durham County Council, albeit that the County Council would still work in partnership with One NorthEast, Lafarge Cement UK and the local community to deliver the new development.

Currently, work is progressing on a potential first phase of development.  As part of this, a raft of further detailed investigations is now being considered and actioned, including delivery arrangements, assembly of a package of funding, infrastructure design work, demand study for the proposed business accommodation, negotiations with end uses, as well as preparatory design work on the buildings.

The creation of Eastgate Renewable Energy Village could be several years away. Regeneration projects on this scale can take more than a decade to complete due to their complexity. For example, Bluewater shopping and leisure development in Kent, also on the site of a former Blue Circle quarry, took over 11 years from concept to completion.

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