Severn Wye 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 an at-cost onsulting basis only. But we can usually provide basic telephone advice on potentially suitable technologies, and on accessing financial support for sustainable energy measures.
For capital funding, there are still some local and national grant schemes applicable to community buildings, although the grant situation is much less healthy than in previous years, so it is realistically much more challenging to assemble a funding package.
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, go direct to the GET website.
Most mainstream energy-related grant programmes for communities have now ended, but there are a few remaining privately-funded schemes for selected renewable energy measures. These include the 'green tariff' funds from E.ON, EDF and ScottishPower, and smaller funds from other organisations. Contact Severn Wye for more information on these.