Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall– Northern Powergrid Foundation Grant Funding Received

Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall receives £4,892.58 to provide additional battery storage for their existing solar panel installation.

Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall built in 1800’s was gifted to the village in 1955 and has been run by a dedicated team of volunteers ever since. In recent years the volunteers have identified a need to improve the facilities to offer a more energy efficient and energy resilient hub for the local community.

Situated in a rural area with a small population of 23 people per sq kilometre, the local residents rely on a facility such as this to reduce social isolation and provide shelter in times of emergency events such as power cuts or storm interruptions.

Electrical control panel housed in a wooden cabinet, featuring multiple boxes, cables, dials, and a red emergency stop buttonThe Challenge for Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall

With a small facility that served multiple purposes to the local community including sessions designed to improve health and wellbeing, community events, a gardening session and space available for external hire, the village hall committee members needed to ensure that they could maximise the effectiveness of what they could offer and as a rural area more susceptible to issues relating to power cuts and storm damage ensure that they could continue to operate and provide social inclusion to local residents.

The Solution for Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall

Sand Hutton and Claxton Village Hall already had a solar panel array installed on the roof of the facility and following consultation with a local electrical contractor were able to establish that with the addition of more  battery storage to their solar installation they would be able to generate an additional 24-40 hours of power depending on usage. This meant that the village hall could remain resilient to power cuts and continue to provide vital services to members of the community. Additional measures implemented within the hall to compliment the battery storage include a number of USB charging plugs which the battery storage will be able to power in the event of a power cut, as well as a state of the art audio visual system which could provide entertainment in respect of films to bring people together if they were unable to access power in their homes. This project is a great example of combining multiple funding grants to complete a full concept.

Support from the Northern Powergrid FoundationWooden floored hall with white walls windows and a projector on the far wall

The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the village hall with £4,892.58 which covered the full cost of the additional battery installation and provides a vital source of power to the community in times of need.

Colin Garner who is the treasurer for the village hall commented ‘We were delighted to receive the funds from the Northern Powergrid Foundation. We may be a small village hall, but we have ambitious plans to ensure the sustainability and resilience of the facility for many years to come’

John Edmonds the current Chair of the Committee added ‘We are lucky to have this facility within the area and also lucky to have the support of organisations such at the Northern Powergrid Foundation in order to continue and enhance the work we do in the community’