The group agreed to focus on three things:

Promoting and facilitating an “Energy Descent Action Plan”. A specific group of people are taking this on including Alex Malcolm, Katy Duke, Ric Swann and Helen Kay. If you have any knowledge in this area – or energy more generally – and want to be involved, please contact one of them. (katy@ecohome.org.uk, alex@alexmalcolm.co.uk ric@ecohome.org.uk, helliebeans@yahoo.co.uk)

Ensuring that Sustainable Frome benefits from full engagement with the Transition Network (of which we are a member). To this end I (peter) and Helen will be attending the training, and Alex will be continuing his work on lobbying Somerset County council and links with Glastonbury etc. This work will be focused on I, Alex, Helen and Katy through the “Transition Network Group of Sustainable Frome”. If you are interested in this, contact one of us.

Lobbying around the Sustainable Communities Act. This potentially provides very significant power to local communities and groups to define their local agenda. “Potentially” because local councils need to “opt in” and that needs lobbying and campaigning. This work will be led by Alex and Helen, as a “project”, with potential to link into the work on the other activity later. Details from Helen at helliebeans@yahoo.co.uk and at the bottom of this I have put some sample letters and more info.

We believe that “Sustainable Frome – a Town in Transition” is fully engaged with the key points of the Transition Movement (awareness raising around peak oil and climate change; sharing ideas within the Transition Network; influencing local government; working towards an energy descent plan; reskilling and changing hearts and minds). What this means is that the previous Transition Town Group has evolved into the 3 areas of specific activity, above, and into Sustainable Frome as a whole.

A small clarification to the above note:

I think the EDAP group should see itself as an independent project group of Sustainable Frome - it might want a separate area of this blog? - this will help to place it in a much omre central role and to enable SF to really become a "town in transition". I don't see the EDAP group as being answerable in any way to the Transition networking group which has a specific role of the TT network in the wider world, to and from SF.
I hope this helps!
Peter