Sustainable Warwickshire

The £1m Green Shoots Community Climate Change Fund is allocated by Warwickshire County Council and supports a wide range of small, community-powered initiatives across Warwickshire in addressing the climate change emergency.

Going Greener at Stockingford Community Centre has been awarded £24,741 in funding to deliver a more sustainable future for the centre through:

• The installation of solar panels,
• Converting the centre’s current lighting to LEDs; and
• Creating an edible garden at the site by a team of local volunteers.

Due to the fast-changing climate and increasing energy costs, along with increased competition for funding and customers, Stockingford Community Centre recognises that it is imperative that it improves its energy efficiency, reduces costs and becomes more sustainable in its operations.

The installation of solar panels and LEDS at the centre will deliver a saving of 70% on energy. Overall savings for the improvements have been estimated as:

In addition to the solar and LED lighting, the Community Centre also plan to engage a group of local volunteers to create an edible garden on their site. This new green space will:

• Encourage greater biodiversity at the site;
• Increase the number pollinating inspects; and
• Produce more homegrown produce for the Community that will be used in the centre’s café and also distributed locally in free fruit and vegetable bags.

Cllr Heather Timms, Portfolio Holder for Environment, Climate and Culture, said: “This is another fantastic example of the difference that our community-powered Warwickshire and a relatively small investment of funding can make to reducing an organisations carbon footprint and impact on the environment.

“As with many things that we can do to make a difference to the climate emergency, solar and LED technology reduce the amount of carbon that we produce whilst also saving money.

“Added to this, the edible garden is going to be a fantastic resource for the local communities in Nuneaton, Bedworth and north Warwickshire and will contribute to making this popular centre even more sustainable and desirable to visitors.”

Gerry Koppenhagen, Stockingford Community Centre Administrator, said of the funding: “This funding has come at a vital time for us as the soaring energy costs would have meant increasing our hall hire rates and therefore possibly losing some of our regular groups.

“With this funding and the subsequent works to install solar panels, we will be able to harvest the summer sunshine, gaining free energy and possible selling some back to the grid, therefore making us more energy efficient as well as self-sustainable, thank you!”

More information about Stockingford Community Centre can be found online: https://www.stockingfordcc.org/

A full list of projects that will receive Green Shoots Community Climate Change funding can be found here: https://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/regeneration-projects/green-shoots-community-climate-change-fund-2022/5

For more information about the Fund, visit: www.warwickshire.gov.uk/greenshootsfund 

For more information about how Warwickshire is facing the challenges of the climate change emergency, visit: https://www.warwickshireclimateemergency.org.uk/

Get the latest news about how Warwickshire County Council and partners are facing the challenge of the climate emergency and how you can get involved: http://eepurl.com/hrk-zf