The Hurst Rethink return with their Big Debate for the third year running. Expect a diverse panel debating topical issues with a focus on community and sustainability.

"The Energy Crisis - how did we get here, where are we going and what can we do?"

The energy crisis is dominating headlines and looks set to impact our lives profoundly this coming winter and beyond.

Join a panel of local energy experts to unpick how the energy crisis has unfolded, what’s going to happen in the short and medium term and what we can do to act.

What part do renewables play? Do we need to decentralise our energy system? How can local Co-operatives help? What can we do individually to reduce our consumption and bills?

Come along for a fascinating evening and discussion.

Our Panellists include:

Ollie Pendered - Chief Executive of Community Energy South
Tom Parker - Chair of REPOWERBalcombe
Matt White - Director, MATT Architecture

Biographies:

Ollie Pendered is Chief Executive of Community Energy South and leads on our Partnerships and capacity building support Community Energy Groups. He is the regional representative for Community Energy England and Chair of the Greater Brighton City Region Energy Working Group.

Tom Parker trained in horticulture at Kew Gardens and later became a Head Gardener in Turners Hill where he lived for 27 years. He now lives in Storrington with his family and is currently chair of REPOWERBalcombe Co-operative and a director at Springbok Sustainable Wood Heat. As part of the Springbok Co-op Tom has assisted with woodland conservation work and successfully helped bring back the Wood White butterfly to previously unmanaged woodland. When a governor at Turners Hill School Tom was responsible for a number of environmental initiatives including solar power, wind turbines, air source heat pumps, rainwater harvesting, LED lighting and planting a woodland. He is currently refitting his house to make it as low carbon as funds will allow. With REPOWERBalcombe Tom has worked to develop a solar farm connected to the mainline railway. He is very keen to see community energy groups develop locally and benefit our area in the same way as others he has been involved with.

Matt is Director at MATT Architecture, a London firm of Architects. He has recently been involved in a project to make his home in Hurstpierpoint more Eco-friendly and energy efficient and is coming along to share advice and learnings from his personal journey.

Tickets are free but must be booked in advance.