By Sandy Hore-Ruthven MBE, chief executive at Severn Wye Energy Agency, a sustainability charity working across Wales and its English border counties.
As the energy crisis deepens, our most vulnerable communities are not the only ones affected. Community and voluntary organisations are also struggling to keep up with rising energy costs, even as they provide crucial support to those in need. Sports clubs, village halls, and drop-in centres across the country are doing their best to help people cope with the cost of living crisis, but they face a difficult situation as their bills mount.
Many of these venues are old and poorly insulated, with outdated heating systems that can’t keep up with the cold outside. To make matters worse, they are often used sporadically, which means they have to be heated up hours before an event and then left to cool off again afterwards. These challenges make it hard for community venues to stay open, as repairs and maintenance are often postponed in order to pay the energy bills.
Despite these challenges, there is hope. Many community venues are staffed by dedicated, generous volunteers who work tirelessly to keep them running. They apply for funding, balance the books, and repair the buildings and heating systems that keep these venues open. And if there is one good thing to come out of this crisis is that communities and volunteers are looking hard at how they use their energy.
At Severn Wye, we have supported over 150 community and sports venues across England and Wales in the last 6 months by assessing their energy use and presenting options for everything from insulation and double glazing to air-source heat pumps and solar panels. We have seen a 30% reduction in energy use in some cases, which can make all the difference between staying open or closing the doors. But these changes can be expensive and take time.
Forward-thinking venues are also changing how they manage their buildings. Booking sessions one after the other means the heating can be turned on for more than one event, and keeping an eye on the weather can save money. Making sure windows and doors are properly sealed and switching to LED lighting all make a tangible difference for very little cost. Replacing old, inefficient appliances with new ones can also help.
There is a lot that community venues can do to reduce their energy use, but it is hard work. Long-term investment in our community and voluntary sector venues is crucial to ensure they can continue to provide support to those in need without being burdened by sky-high energy bills. Government, funders, and local authorities can play a key role in supporting these venues and ensuring their long-term future. These are tough times for our community venues, but with the right support, we can ensure they continue to be a vital part of our communities for years to come.
The dark cloud of sky-high energy prices may have a silver lining if we can invest in their future and ensure we never face a crisis like this again.
