A FORWARD-thinking group in Malhamdale is hoping to create a system to provide carbon-neutral heating for its residents.

The Malhamdale Initiative is working alongside the Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority which wants to double tree cover in the park.

A sub group of the initiative, the Malhamdale Renewable Group, was formed around three years ago and is hoping to link into the national park's tree-planting plans to provide eco-friendly heat for residents.

The national park is looking at increasing woodland by 80 hectares each year.

Now the Malhamdale group wants to establish its own woodland on one of the farms in the park to provide wood for a district heating scheme in Malham village.

The benefit of this is that the growing trees would off-set carbon emissions from the heating project, while harvesting would eventually provide a local sustainable source of fuel.

A similar project is working in Northumbria and is known as the Kielder Forest District Heating scheme.

A limited study by the group has indicated that home heating and domestic hot water accounts for 80 per cent of the Dale's total domestic energy consumption.

As the Dale is not on mains gas, fuel is mainly oil, LPG and some coal.

An average three bedroom family home consumes around 4,000 kilowatts of electricity and 3,000 litres of heating oil creating a total of 11 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

Sandy Tod, leader of the group, said: "The over-riding aim of the project is to make Malhamdale carbon neutral in a way that benefits the community and not just by paying for our pollution and dumping the responsibility onto someone else.

"It may seem ambitious, but with support from the community we hope to create an example for other rural areas."

The group decided an energy initiative needed to be carried out to explain the different technologies associated with saving energy, from wind turbines to solar panels.

The Yorkshire Dales National Park Authority, through the Yorkshire Dales Millennium Trust, is funding the initiative and a full survey is being carried out to determine the current energy consumption by domestic and business premises.

This will provide a carbon footprint for the Dale.

The subject of increasing tree cover in the area was discussed at a recent meeting at the Centre for Management Creativity at High Trenhouse.

It was attended by residents of Malham Moor, representatives of the national park authority, National Trust and Natural England.

It was agreed to investigate a joint project to establish woodland on one of the farms.

"This approach would seem to have significant advantages.

"Apart from using a carbon-neutral fuel, the cost of locally produced wood chippings would be stable compared to fossil fuels imported from often unstable parts of the world. "Other benefits would include local employment, a sustainable community and making the Dale a more attractive destination to the increasing number of families who care about the carbon footprint of their visit," said Mr Tod.

With the constant worry of global warming, the group is eager to gain support from the community to drive the initiative forward.

For more information of the Malhamdale Renewable Energy Group and the Malhamdale Initiative, go to the website www.malhamdale.com or contact Mr Tod on 01729 830690.