Letter 20 — To Lucy Meredith, Leeds Community Energy

Strengthening the civic layer of the energy transition

Context

Today we turn to Lucy Meredith, coordinator of Leeds Community Energy and Housing & Energy Transition Partner for Climate Action Leeds.

Her work connects households, cooperatives and city institutions to make renewable energy and retrofit genuinely local.

Although national strategies focus on infrastructure and technology, projects like Leeds Community Energy show that delivery also depends on a missing civic layer: the volunteers, neighbourhood groups and shared trust that turn ambition into action.

This letter asks what kind of civic infrastructure Leeds still needs to make that work scalable and enduring.

Letter

Dear Lucy,

I am writing as part of One Letter a Day: a year-long civic experiment to reopen grounded conversations about the climate emergency, starting here in Leeds. Each day I write to someone whose work shapes how we think and act on this crisis, and publish both letters and replies to encourage wider dialogue.

This week turns to the people and organisations who make resilience tangible — those building the civic foundations of the transition from the ground up. Leeds Community Energy, which you help coordinate, is one of them: a bridge between citizens, technology and institutions.

I saw you speak at the Yorkshire Post Climate Summit 2025, where you described how community-energy projects can link local ownership with city-wide ambition. It struck me that your work occupies a space we rarely discuss — the connective tissue between national policy and individual action, where real delivery happens or fails.

So my question is this: What kind of civic infrastructure does Leeds still need to make community-led energy and retrofit genuinely scalable? The volunteers, cooperatives and neighbourhood groups doing this work are essential, yet they often sit outside formal recognition or sustained support.

I ask because much of our national climate strategy is designed for systems, not societies. The transition depends not only on grids and technologies, but on trust, coordination and shared ownership — things that live at the civic level. Understanding how to strengthen that missing layer feels central to whether cities like Leeds can turn ambition into reality.

With gratitude for your work and for the connections you keep building,

– Vivien

📨 Reply from Lucy Meredith / Leeds Community Energy

No reply has yet been received.

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Tomorrow’s letter turns to Adam Ogilvie, Chief Executive of Meanwood Valley Urban Farm — exploring how four decades of community farming in Leeds can guide the city’s search for resilience, education, and belonging in a changing climate.