SWEA has extensive experience in working with community buildings, including village halls, Parish Councils, schools, and some churches. Unfortunately, we are not currently funded to offer in-depth support to community buildings - our community energy surveying activity is on hold at present, and can usually be done on a paid consulting basis only. But we are always happy to provide basic telephone advice on potentially suitable technologies, and on accessing grants for sustainable energy measures.
For capital funding, there are still both local and national grant schemes applicable to community buildings, although the grant situation is much less healthy than in previous years.
The Gloucestershire Environmental Trust (GET) provides grants from the Landfill Communities Fund, and supports a wide variety of projects that benefit Gloucestershire, its people and its environment. In recent years, the GET has included sustainable energy improvements in community buildings (but not schools) within its funding remit. For further information, see our GET project page, or go direct to the GET website.
The Grassroots Grants programme is funded by the Office of the Third Sector and delivered into Gloucestershire by the Gloucestershire Community Foundation. The programme will run until March 2011; however it is anticipated that grant-making will cease in December 2010.
Grants of between £250 and £5,000 are available to small groups to help respond to the diverse needs of communities, and are intended to be used to fund a wide range of activities. Various energy efficiency measures in village halls have already been funded by Grassroots, although there is a limited budget for this work.
For further information, go direct to the Grassroots pages or contact Jane Jarman on 01452 656386.
A grant scheme called the Community Sustainable Energy Programme was launched in early 2008 by BRE, and this offers up to 50% grants for small-scale renewables technologies, as well as energy efficiency measures when installed in conjunction with these.
CSEP funding will end in the third quarter of 2010, with the final deadline in October 2010, but early applications are encouraged, since competition is strong. It should be noted that, due to the programme's remit of funding a broad spectrum of technologies balanced across all English regions, solar PV-only applications in the South West face stringent criteria, and realistically have a much lower chance of being funded.
SWEA is listed as a registered consultant organisation for 'project development studies' (funded up to 75%) under the CSEP scheme, but please note that we are unable to commence any new studies as of July 2010. Full details are available at www.communitysustainable.org.uk
The decision has been taken by the new government to close the Low Carbon Buildings Programme (all phases) to new applications immediately, as of May 2010. Applications sent in prior to this date will still be considered, and existing grant offers will of course be honoured. Although this news is disappointing, our understanding is that the funding pot was close to exhausted anyway. Originally, the LCBP was intended to run into 2011 - for heat technologies only - with the Renewable Heat Incentive taking over from April 2011. The RHI has yet to be confirmed by the new government, and more information will only become available in October 2010.