Community buildings are seeing their energy bills and carbon footprints reduce with the help of grants totalling £500,000 which are being issued by North Yorkshire Council.
The council has awarded 20 grants to community buildings, through York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Net Zero Fund, which came from the Government as part of the region’s devolution deal.
Northdale Horticulture in Northallerton, a registered charity providing training, work-based activities and social and leisure opportunities for adults with learning disabilities, successfully secured a grant to expand an existing set of solar panels.
Chief officer Simon Cross said: “The grant came along just at the right time. We were looking at decarbonising as much as we could and responding to the wider climate change agenda.
“We were also keen to generate as much power ourselves where possible, producing upwards of 70 per cent of the electric we use through solar.
“This grant has really helped us to be self-sufficient and reduce our overall operating costs, meaning we can continue the fantastic work of the charity and support our clients and customers who come and see us.”
Another organisation to receive a grant was Claro Enterprises in Harrogate, which operates a commercial workshop and supports those with long-term mental health conditions to function in a voluntary real work environment.
General manager Owen Jones said: “We do a lot of woodworking, which is really energy intensive. The solar panels that we’ve been able to install as a result of the grant have significantly reduced our energy bills.
“That means the money that would have been spent on those bills can be reinvested in improving the mental well-being of the people in North Yorkshire.”
The funding is hoped to save some 99 tonnes of carbon dioxide and generate more than 159,000 kilowatt hours (kWh) in renewable electricity per year.
North Yorkshire Council’s executive member for managing our environment, Cllr Richard Foster, said: “It’s great to see the impact that the grants have had on organisations across the county, which are saving on energy bills and operating more energy efficiently.
“To say we are in our first two years as an authority, we have already delivered on many projects, but we still have much to do.
“There is still a vast amount of work that needs to be done to become carbon neutral, but we have clear ambitions and objectives that I have no doubt will be delivered in the years ahead.”
In a bid to further reduce carbon emissions, the council is developing the roll-out of electric vehicle charging infrastructure and improving public and private housing to reduce energy use, as well as exploring options for replacing its existing fleet with low carbon vehicles.
North Yorkshire Council and the York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority won the Association for Public Service Excellence award for the Shared Prosperity Fund decarbonisation theme.
The Mayor of York and North Yorkshire, David Skaith, said: “This is exactly what our Net Zero Fund is about, delivering tangible benefits to our communities.
“Organisations like Northdale Horticulture and Claro Enterprises do such vital work, so it’s great to see them benefiting from significantly lower energy costs. This means they can invest more into what matters most – supporting people who need it.
“These measures save our community organisations money while contributing to our drive towards net zero by 2034 and carbon negative by 2040.
“York and North Yorkshire has the world-class universities, natural resources, and the ambition to be a true trailblazer for the UK in reaching net zero. By backing projects like these, we are delivering cleaner air, economic growth, and a more sustainable future for everyone in our region.”
