Two years ago, Fried Broekhof, together with a group of enthusiastic volunteers, started the neighbourhood team Overhees under the flag of the Soester Energiecoöperatie (SOEN). This initiative has now grown into several teams, including a technical team and a communications team, with almost 20 volunteers. The goal: to involve residents of Overhees in the energy transition and support them in making their homes more sustainable.
To do this effectively, the neighbourhood team makes frequent use of data analysis and BSR lifestyles. This allows communication and participation to be better tailored to the various resident groups in the neighbourhood. In addition, there is close cooperation with the Municipality of Soest and Energie Acties Soest (EAS) to make optimal use of expertise and resources.
The Overhees neighbourhood team focuses on various strategies and activities to guide residents step by step in their sustainability process:
• Heat network from pond heat
Based on technical and financial research, it appears that a heat network, fed by heat from the four largest ponds in Overhees, can provide up to 1100 homes with sustainable heat. This project is being developed in collaboration with the municipality and other partners.
• Targeted communication and data-driven participation
By applying BSR lifestyles and data analysis, we tailor our approach to different target groups within Overhees. This helps to identify which residents are open to sustainability and how we can best approach them.
• Information meetings and energy cafés
The neighbourhood team regularly organises meetings and workshops where residents receive practical information about energy saving, subsidies and collective purchasing campaigns.
• Collective purchasing campaigns
Residents can jointly invest in insulation, solar panels and green roofs, with benefits such as lower costs and expert advice.
• Collaboration with the Municipality of Soest and EAS
The collaboration with the municipality and EAS not only ensures that residents are well informed, but they can also make use of local subsidies and guidance in sustainability.
The Overhees neighbourhood team has made a big impact in a short period of time:
• More awareness in the neighbourhood: More and more residents are taking steps towards sustainability.
• More targeted participation through data analysis: Communication is better aligned with the needs of different target groups.
• Active collaboration with the municipality and local initiatives provides extra impact and continuity.
• Future plans: The team continues to work on new projects, such as further developing the heating network and making private homes more sustainable in collaboration with partners.