The Green Communities 'Community Support Network' service is available for community groups who want technical support for their energy projects. This free service is offered to Green Communities members that want expert advice on issues such as: funding, renewable energy installations or community project development.

Recently the service supported Ardleigh House – a community association located in the London Borough of Havering – as their leased building was in a state of disrepair. With major refurbishment works planned for the centre, Ardleigh House wanted to ensure the work was done with energy efficiency in mind, so they contacted Green Communities. More than 1,200 people use the facilities weekly and the centre consists of three buildings; the main activity centre, the large hall and the small hall. The buildings were difficult to heat, draughty and had high energy bills which resulted in a carbon footprint of 77.9 tonnes of CO2 per annum. This could be accounted for by the lack of insulating properties of the building fabric and the proportion of time that the building is in use each week.

After conducting a feasibility study on the building, our technical expert advised that measures to be considered in the refurbishment included installing a new biomass boiler, installing solid wall and roof insulation, installing double glazing, improving draught proofing, and replacing lighting. As a result the community association will now be look into installers, obtain quotes for the recommended works and begin to research and apply to funders to support the project, along with the aid of Green Communities.

If you’d like to find out more about the Community Support Network service and what support it can provide contact: 0844 848 0077