Hansard

Like my colleagues, I congratulate Claire Baker on securing this debate to recognise the achievements of Greener Kirkcaldy and I echo her welcome to members of the community organisation who have joined us in the gallery today.

Community groups are the backbone of many communities in Fife. As an MSP and local councillor, I know only too well that an active and engaged community sector is a tremendous asset for collectively meeting the aims of Fife Council and Fife’s community plans. In the past year I have visited and spoken about a number of community organisations in Fife that have a focus on environment and wellbeing, including the Ecology Centre at Kinghorn, Broomhill community gardens in Burntisland, and the evergreen service in Kirkcaldy.

Greener Kirkcaldy, like those other groups, is showing the way in local communities by working with local partner organisations such as the Fife diet. Vitally, it is helping to deliver the message about building strong, sustainable communities and that the best way to do that is through the combined impact of each of us doing a little in order to effect a bigger change. By operating locally and engaging with schools and local groups, it adds value to what others are doing. Greener Kirkcaldy has been very skilful in how it reaches out to the community: it knows that it is not all about meetings. People can go to an event or workshop, visit the advantageice centre, or book a home energy advice visit. If someone has a little spare time, they can become a volunteer or they can become a signed-up member of a growing community of people who are learning about and working towards a greener Kirkcaldy.

Groups such as Greener Kirkcaldy are vital, as they enable people to begin to implement changes that could make a material improvement to their wellbeing, their neighbourhood and their planet. Without such projects, we would find it very difficult to see the high-level strategies and aspirations of complex yet important legislation translate into the reality of people’s everyday lives. People’s lives are often lived at a fast, stressful pace with the emphasis on getting through the day, managing on a budget and doing several things at once.

Against that background, how do we politicians sell the concept of reduce, reuse, recycle to busy families? Further, thinking about yesterday’s debate on air quality and last year’s consideration of the report on proposals and policies 2, how do we make those proposals real for communities like those in and around Kirkcaldy? When we look at last week’s district heating and decarbonising heating debate, it becomes clear. People might well find themselves thinking, “What’s all that about? It sounds a bit technical. It’s not really for me.” However, during that debate, we learned that an estimated £2.6 billion is spent each year in Scotland on keeping the temperature in our homes and businesses to our liking. Therefore, it is, financially, a very significant issue.

In my contribution to that debate last week, I spoke about the anaerobic digestion plant and district heating systems elsewhere in Fife that are helping to create the energy that we need to heat our homes. However, I also recognised the challenges of fuel poverty and energy inefficient homes, and the negative impact that they can have on people’s lives. That is why I particularly like Greener Kirkcaldy’s cosy Kirkcaldy project, which Claire Baker and others have mentioned. Not only does it provide advice on ways to minimise a family’s energy wastage, but it helps people to understand their energy bills and to see what tariffs are out there for them, as well as offering support for insulation top-ups and other schemes that could help keep the temperature up and the bills down in people’s homes. Therefore, it is not just cosy Kirkcaldy but clever Kirkcaldy.

One of the pleasures of a members’ business debate is that the hard work and successes of local groups can be formally recognised by all parties across the chamber. Therefore, once again, I add my support to the motion, and I look forward to seeing the project go from strength to strength.