Cloughmills Community Action Team (CCAT) members.
The National Lottery Community Fund is open for applications from community organisations across the Mid and East Antrim Borough Council area, who would like to make their buildings more energy efficient and save money on bills.
The £5 million Sustainable Community Buildings programme is offering grants of up to £50,000 to help organisations carry out improvements to their venues by installing technology like solar panels, insulation and heat pumps, saving money on energy bills.
Organisations that take part in the programme will have a chance to complete free accredited carbon literacy training delivered by Business in the Community, which will help them to look at ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Action Renewables will also support them to write and implement an environmental plan to consider steps to improve sustainability and cut costs.
It opens for applications for six weeks across Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council, Derry City and Strabane District Council, Fermanagh and Omagh District Council and Mid and East Antrim Borough Council from Wednesday 11 September 2024 to Wednesday 23 October 2024.
Kate Beggs, The National Lottery Community Fund’s NI Director said: “Sustainable Community Buildings is designed to kick-start an organisation's journey to sustainability. It is the first step in our ambition under our new strategy to support communities to be environmentally sustainable.
“The programme will help organisations to improve the environmental performance of their building, save money through lower utility bills and reduce their carbon footprint. We believe this will also leave a legacy by increasing awareness and educating community organisations about the environmental challenges they face.”
Some community groups in the area have already taken steps to be environmentally sustainable. Cloughmills Community Action Team improve the social, economic and environmental life of the village of Cloughmills. Made up of local volunteers, they consider environmentally sustainability an important part of protecting their local area, bringing people together, sharing skills and reducing costs.
Patrick Frew
Patrick Frew, Committee Member from Cloughmills Community Action Team said:
“We have received support from the National Lottery Community Fund over 20 years, and the first grant gave us the confidence to consider how we can help environment, when it wasn’t the main purpose of the group.
“In recent years we received a grant for solar panels which have helped save over £1,000 in energy costs each year. We have a Men’s Shed, which is used every day by older people, to make things and reduce loneliness. The savings have allowed us to buy more equipment and help keep it running. We have been able to look at other things such repairing bikes and metal work, all reducing wastage and helping us reuse.
“As a village we are looking at how we can be sustainable and rely on our own resources, we wouldn’t have thought that was possible back at the start of the journey, and who doesn’t want to save some money, while helping a good cause, a cleaner planet for us all.”
Bronagh, Women’s Aid ABCLN Domestic Abuse Specialist, pictured outside the Naomi Centre in Ballymena. Women’s Aid ABCLN has already taken some steps to sustainability by installing solar panels on their building, thanks to National Lottery funding.
Women’s Aid ABCLN (Antrim, Ballymena, Carrickfergus, Larne and Newtownabbey) also received National Lottery funding two years ago to install solar panels at the Naomi Centre in Ballymena and have already seen the benefits.
Karen McConkey, Finance Manager at Women’s Aid ABCLN said:
“As part of our project funded by The National Lottery Community Fund to raise awareness of domestic abuse and help protect older people, we were able to secure additional funding for installing solar panels.
“We wanted to do our bit for supporting the environment and try and reduce our ever-increasing bills. The application and installation processes were straight forward and there was help along the way. Experts accessed our building and made sure we got what was best for our situation and organisation. The solar panels have allowed us to make savings at a time when we needed them the most.
“I would say to other groups thinking of applying to the new National Lottery funding programme, Sustainable Community Buildings, if your organisation and building are eligible, give it a go.”
The Sustainable Community Buildings programme, which is distributing money raised thanks to people playing The National Lottery games, opens for applications in stages across Northern Ireland during 2024-2025.
For more information visit The National Lottery Community Fund’s website www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/northern-ireland or contact their enquiries team on 028 9055 1455, enquiries.ni@tnlcommunityfund.org.uk
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