Room for much more than solar panels on our roofs

Published: 3 June, 2011

• I WAS extremely pleased to read that Islington Council is supporting a large scale roll-out of solar panels across council-owned properties (Sun shines on more jobs and lower fuel bills, May 27). 

As your article suggests, such initiatives have multiple benefits, including creation of local employment, reductions in the carbon emissions which contribute to global warming and, just as importantly, free electricity for residents struggling with rising fuel bills.

Your article, however, highlights the value of assets owned by the council, and particularly the scope for creative use of existing roof space in dense urban areas. While pitched roofs can be ideal for solar panels, flat ones can, for example, be turned into community gardens, play or food-growing spaces or even, as in one local case, providing the foundations for new dwellings. The possibilities are huge.

So, while applauding the council’s new proposal, we hope it represents just the start of a more creative approach to maximising community benefit from council-owned buildings.

CAROLINE ALLEN 
Islington Green Party