News

Ludford Mill surrounded by flood water, with our Archimedes Screw chamber submerged below the rising waters of the River Teme.

The impact of Storm Dennis was felt nationwide across the UK last weekend but here in Ludlow, the Environment Agency observed record water levels as the River Teme broke its banks, causing widespread flooding. Official figures indicate the river level peaked at 5.20m at Ludlow around 7pm on Sunday afternoon (16/02/2020); a period that carried a ‘Severe Flood Warning’ at Ludford, the location of our hydro-electric generator. With water levels higher than have been experienced locally since the great floods of 2007, it became inevitable that our hydro operation would be at risk.

We are pleased to report that proactive steps were taken to shutdown the generator plant and to limit the extent of any water damage.  However, with water levels being so high, our team valiantly fought a losing battle with the river. At its peak, our hydro installation was completely submerged, the turbine room flooded and with water ingress to the lower part of our control room. Despite best endeavours we have lost (although may recover), many of the boards that protect the Archimedes Screw but otherwise things are very wet but seem intact.

The River Teme having broken its banks on to Temeside in Ludlow, with our hydro plant completely submerged at Ludford Mill, in the background.

Anthony Shuster, Chairman of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative, explains: “We are drying everything out and doing a full assessment with the help of our maintenance company. The hope is that no major damage has been done and that a good drying and cleaning will get us operational again but this is not guaranteed. We will keep all our members informed but we do not expect to be running again for several weeks. Our thoughts are with Clive and Denise, owners of the Mill House, as their home was also severely flooded.”

Further updates will be posted as soon as we have any news to share but, work is already underway to return the hydro generator to full operation, as soon as possible.  In the meantime, many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

Working in collaboration with the Teme Weirs Trust, it gives us great pleasure to announce that today, we have replaced the riverside information board located opposite Ludford Mill, at Temeside in Ludlow. The new board builds on the good work of its predecessor but now includes information about the operation of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative. Why not stop and see it for yourself, the next time you are passing? In the meantime, here is a preview of the updated information panel:

In terms of other general news, we also have another significant update this month. Following feedback from our Co-Operative Members, it gives us great pleasure to launch a new website feature. The ‘Generation Counter’ uses a ‘Rev Counter’ to visually display the performance of our hydro-electric generation.  It also captures the ‘Total KHw’ output as a numeric value, so you can easily keep track of our cumulative progress throughout the year.  This is in addition to the ‘Generation Figures’ chart that we already update each month. The new performance indicators link to a live-feed and so update periodically throughout each day.

And finally, we must not forget to recognise the day-to-day management of the hydro-electric generator, which is the life-blood to the operation of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.  Our team are currently mobilising, in preparation for the next routine maintenance service, scheduled for early October. As such, don’t worry if you spot our generation output temporarily reduce whilst this work is underway – it is planned, routine, important work that will ensure the longevity of our hydro operation.

We hope you enjoy receiving our occasional news bulletins and don’t forget to visit the website from time to time, to check for further updates. In the meantime, many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

Over the past month, we’ve looked at ways to improve communication with visitors to our website – not just to our own members but also to other interested parties who may share an appreciation of renewable energy and in particular, our hydro scheme at Ludlow. With this in mind and to set expectations, here is a quick summary of our new and ongoing approach to web communication:

1. Generation Figures – The online chart displaying our monthly hydro generation figures, is updated during the first couple of business working days, each calendar month.
2. Membership Matters – Sharenergy will continue to contact our members individually via email on an ad hoc basis, with details about interest payments and capital repayment plans.
3. Website Mailing List – Rather than expect you to regularly visit our website to check for news updates, we have introduced some automation to the process (as outlined below).

We are pleased to announce that the ‘Subscribe to mailing list’ feature has now been activated. Sharenergy originally ran this service for a short while during the feasibility stage of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative. As such, if you were an early subscriber, you may already be receiving our update alerts? However, the process has been closed to new subscribers for several years but has now been reinstated by Sharenergy. So, why not sign-up to receive notification of our occasional news updates? You will find the opt-in box below the ‘Latest News’ summary on this webpage.

For security purposes we use a “double opt-in” process – simply enter your email address and then click on the link within the automated email that will be sent to you. That’s it! It’s as simple as that and there is no charge for the service. Sharenergy manage the mailing list for us and your details will only be used for the outlined purpose – they have a published Data Privacy Policy.

Of course, we recognise that automation is not for everyone! As such, ad hoc visitors to our website are also always welcome – regardless of how you came to hear about us. With this in mind, we hope you enjoy the applied changes and we encourage you to use our new ‘Subscribe to mailing list’ service to ensure you are one of the first to receive our future news updates. Either way, don’t forget to visit the website from time to time, to check for further changes. Many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

A number of further significant changes have been made to our website over the past month. These have included a mixture of Phase 2 ‘business as usual’ revisions, along with some more complex and time consuming, preliminary Phase 3 updates:

1. Home – Our Phase 2 ‘business as usual’ changes have included revisions to the 3D chart, bringing it up-to-date with our latest hydro-electric generation statistics.
2. The Scheme – For quick and comparative reference, additional charts have been created which map our hydro-electric generation on a year-by-year basis.
3. Gallery – A new online gallery has been created, initially containing circa 50 photographs that showcase the construction phase of our hydro infrastructure.
4. About Us – This page has been updated to include more historical background information about the settlement of Ludford; the physical home of our hydro-plant.
5. Downloads – Further ‘Additional Related-Interest Information Links’ have been added to this page, to widen the appeal of our website and its content.

Over the coming months, we will continue to update the hydro generation chart with our monthly renewable energy outputs. In addition to this, we will also be working on the feasibility plans for some further, more complex and aspirational updates to the website. If these subsequently come to fruition, they will form a continuation of our Phase 3 updates, for ad hoc delivery sometime in the future.

In the meantime, once again, we hope you enjoy the applied changes and don’t forget to visit the website from time to time, to check for further updates. Many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

It gives us great pleasure to confirm that the Phase 1 website updates are now complete. Here is a taste of some of the changes that have been applied over the past month:

1. Home – This page has been revamped to provide a succinct summary of who we are as an organisation in 2019, our potted history and our objectives for the future. Features include a new banner graphic of Ludford Mill, a 3D chart showing up-to-date hydro-electric generation figures and links to related-interest websites, including a satellite view of the LHC’s operation at Ludford Mill.
2. The Scheme – This page has been rewritten to bring it up-to-date with our operation in 2019. Features include updated photos, additional schematic drawings, a performance summary and the relocation of our Vimeo video from the Home page.
3. News – Whilst there have been no significant changes here, we have shared news of our website plans and outlined the approach to our implementation of those changes.
4. About Us – This page has been restructured with director profiles now sitting behind, rather than alongside, each photo. The list of directors has also been brought up-to-date to reflect changes in appointment agreed at the recent AGM. New features include a location map and updated photo of Ludford Mill.
5. Downloads – This page has been completely revamped. Broken links have been repaired and a large amount of new content has been added. New features include access to previous AGM meeting packs, key documents and related-interest topics.

Following the success of this implementation, we are pleased to report that Phase 2 of our delivery is now underway. Being our ‘business as usual’ phase, this will include monthly updates to the Generation Figures chart, to enable members and interested parties, to keep track of our progress in hydro-electric generation throughout the year.

We will also be working on feasibility plans for some further more complex enhancements to the website. If these subsequently come to fruition, they will form our Phase 3 updates, for ad hoc delivery sometime in the future. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy the applied changes and don’t forget to visit the website again from time to time, to check for further updates. Many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

When we first launched the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative website in 2013, it was designed to promote the launch of the Co-Operative and to share news about the group’s plans to generate hydro-electricity from the Horseshoe Weir at Ludlow.

Things have moved on since then and, over the coming months (building on the success of that original undertaking), we will be bringing the website content up-to-date with news of the Co-Operative’s fully operational work, as it stands today in 2019.  The updates will be applied, following a phased delivery plan:

• Phase 1 – Apply basic updates immediately to bring the site up-to-date.
• Phase 2 – Apply ad hoc ‘Business As Usual’ updates throughout the year.
• Phase 3 – Apply more ambitious updates once more detailed feasibility work has been conducted.

Following the Co-Operative’s AGM last month (26/03/2019), we are happy to report that Phase 1 is now underway.  Please bear with us, as we apply further updates over the coming months and don’t forget to revisit the website from time to time, to check for changes.  In the meantime, many thanks for your continued interest and, for supporting the work of the Ludlow Hydro Co-Operative.

The 2019 AGM will be on Tuesday 26th March at The Sitting Room at the Blue Boar Inn

52 Mill Street, Ludlow

At the August meeting of the Directors, the board approved the proposal to move the next AGM earlier in the year to 28th March 2018.

On the 29th of June 2017, The 3rd AGM was held at the Charlton Arms and the meeting approved the 2016 accounts.

Board elections were held and the board remains the same as last year.