In 2011, a group of volunteers led by founder Ben Parker cleared some council wasteland to create a community farm; today the large outdoor education facility at River Bourne Community Farm welcomes around 15,000 visitors a year.
Despite this success, the team’s offices haven’t kept pace – they’re still in the unheated, single-glazed brick bungalow they inherited. Another freezing winter was in the offing when the owners heard about the Wiltshire Towns Programme.
‘The idea that we could improve the efficiency of the building appealed a lot!’ says community engagement manager Sara-Jane. ‘When energy prices rose considerably, we looked into various ways to reduce our costs but everything involved investing money we simply didn’t have.’
They got in touch with Severn Wye to take the first step.
‘We had an energy survey, and it was very detailed and informative.’
With Severn Wye’s help the farm applied for a grant to update their windows. Double-glazing is often excluded from funded decarbonisation schemes because new windows save relatively little carbon compared to their cost. But the wider benefits to this valued community amenity were high; so Severn Wye made a special case and got council approval for a grant of more than £5,700 to replace the old metal-framed windows with efficient double-glazing.
The windows will save 0.63 tonnes of CO2 each year and a substantial £577 a year on the farm’s energy bills – not to mention much improved comfort for the hard-working team.
‘Our offices were lovely and cool in the recent heatwave – and we look forward to being warmer in the winter. Plus, we have lots more light coming in!’ says Sara-Jane.
The farm’s energy efficiency ambitions don’t stop there, however; Sara-Jane explains:
‘[The survey] will hopefully give us the information we need to apply for more grants in the future. We would like to insulate the walls to completely finish the improvements to the office building and maybe look at installing solar roof panels at some point too.’
