New door opens on cosy and efficient village hall
Alongside its neighbouring village shop and recreational fields, Horsley Village Hall provides an important community focus for the Gloucestershire village it serves. Originally built in 1966, the hall is used extensively during weekdays and evenings for early years groups, youth club, yoga classes, and nearly every weekend there’s a party or workshop taking place.
As well as wanting to save money on bills, the hall management were keen to reduce their carbon footprint and make sure the hall played its part towards achieving the Parish plan for net-zero carbon by 2030. The problem was, they weren’t sure where to start – until a Parish councillor alerted them to Severn Wye and Target 2030 funding.
Mags Ratford, Chairperson of the hall, explains: ‘We already had a green ethos and encouraged people to use the hall responsibility to avoid waste. We had some funds set aside for improvements, but Severn Wye’s energy efficiency report was the impetus we needed.’
Mags explains the report was very thorough: ‘Although it was pretty much what we expected, it was really useful to have everything there in one document and to see potential savings for each improvement.’ The hall committee nevertheless had to consider carefully where their money should be invested. After discussion they applied for a grant of just over £2,000 to match their own spend of £4,750 to implement all the report’s recommendations, installing more loft insulation, cavity wall insulation, LED lighting, a new boiler and controls, and more double glazing.
Mags admits it was tricky to fit the installations around the activities in the hall. ‘But when you see the end result it’s worth it. The hall doesn’t get much sunlight so there’s hardly any natural warmth; now even when the heating’s off the hall is still warmer,’ she says. The new boiler has also proved easier to control to achieve a consistent temperature.
As for the stats, the committee continues to keep a close eye on energy consumption and costs. Hall use varies month by month but it’s clear that both gas and electricity use have fallen since the work. ‘The improvements were made even before the recent alarming increases in energy costs, so we’ve saved even more than we would have expected,’ says Mags. In fact the hall will save an estimated £18,580 over the lifetime of the installations.
Returning to the hall’s energy efficiency report, the committee went on to implement all the low and no-cost measures it recommended – ticking off each item including lowering the radiator temperatures in less-used areas, and installing a smart meter.
The process spurred the hall committee on to invest a bit more money on improvements not covered by the grant, all of which has resulted in a smart and cosy hall that has received lots of compliments and featured in the local magazine.
‘We are so glad we did the energy- and carbon-saving measures when we did,’ says Mags. ‘We are seeing a noticeable reduction in gas and electricity consumption and the building is warmer generally. In the end we even got the front door renovated too.’
