The Community Association is celebrating after being awarded £29,532 funding from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest funder of community activity in the UK.

It will fund a 2 year Community Sustainability Project to carry out energy efficiency work and replace the gas heating system with an air source heat pump at the Community Centre. In addition, the CA will show local people how it works and explain what they can do to not only reduce their energy bills but also reduce their carbon emissions at the same time at a series of public events.

This new National Lottery funding will enable the Community Centre, a partner in the Village Community Buildings Sustainability Project, which also includes the School, Church, the Church Hall, the Cricket Club and the Football Club to become Carbon Neutral. Over 96% of residents who took part in a community survey supported the Project. In addition to trying to make the community buildings carbon neutral, the project team is gathering data and information about all its sustainability activities to create a knowledge bank to share their learning about renewable energy systems, energy efficiency and related topics with residents and others further afield.

Over the next 2 years a series of free public meetings will be held in the Partner buildings, to show how renewable energy systems such as solar panels, electricity storage batteries and heat pumps work.  

Ray Newton, The Monk Fryston and Hillam Sustainability Project Manager, said: “Thanks to National Lottery players, this grant means that we can take our Sustainability Project forward with certainty at a time when more and more people recognise they have to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels and reduce their own energy consumption because of rapidly rising prices.  However, we also know there is great uncertainty about the performance of replacement energy systems and there are many myths about what they will and will not do. We will have ‘house size’ systems installed in our Community Buildings and collect performance information which people can trust. We also want to show people how they can go about reducing their household energy consumption. Our Community Partner Buildings are of various ages and construction and so have similar challenges which families also face. If we can solve these problems and share the learning, our project will make a big difference to people’s lives.” 

During the pandemic, in 2020 alone, The National Lottery Community Fund distributed almost £1 billion to charities and community organisations across the UK.  

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk   

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