The Community Use Building (CUB) Honiton has already spent its money on adaptations required to install double glazing, batteries and solar panels.
Exeter Community Energy (ECOE) is delighted to have awarded £5495.62 in grants to four local groups to help them deliver lower-carbon, lower-cost heating in their buildings. ECOE’s community fund provides grants to groups in and near Exeter working to save energy, reduce reliance on fossil fuels and/or enhance social equity and justice within the community. The fund draws on the income from our ten solar power sites, donations from ECOE members and surplus income from our Healthy Homes for Wellbeing project. We expect ECOE’s community fund to make over £170,000 available over the 20-year lifespan of our solar panels.
This year, ECOE received eight applications and made awards to four groups: St Sidwell’s Community Centre, Community Use Building Honiton, The Oak Room and People’s Parkfield CIC.
Community Use Building Honiton
Community Use Building Honiton is a vital community hub, serving around 200 to 250 people weekly. It is inclusive to all ages, from babies to the elderly. It recently received a grant to install solar panels and battery storage, upgrade to double glazing, and replace its gas boiler. This requires replacing an old spiral staircase and fire protection and creating a new floor area, which was previously unfunded. ECOE has awarded Community Use Building Honiton £1,675 towards the cost. With impressive efficiency, it has already completed that work, with the outcome shown in the picture above.
St Sidwell’s Community Centre
St Sidwell’s Community Centre’s community bakery provides an average of 35 volunteering opportunities each week. It supports people to learn baking/kitchen skills as well as develop customer service, timekeeping, teamwork and other skills, meet new people and more. ECOE has awarded St Sidwell’s £1,000 to help install an air-to-air source heat pump in this space. This will allow more people to attend cookery classes in the space, generating minimal emissions in the process.
The Oak Room
Oak Room Tiverton CIC is about providing a unique space to deliver activities from exercise classes to dance, art workshops to live music, vibrant space for regular meets. In 2024 around 500 people came to this space. ECOE has granted Oak Room £1800.00 to deliver Phase 1 of its ‘Heat to Meet’ project. This will increase the viability of Oak Room by heating its spaces. There’s currently no heating in the building as the previous antiquated gas boiler was condemned. The Heat to Meet project will in Phase 1 install radiant panels to run on Octopus renewable electricity supply. The Oak Room in Phase 2 hopes to install its own battery and solar system and include other electrical consumption.
People’s Parkfield CIC
14 community organisations currently occupy Parkfield House in Paignton and its outbuildings. Hundreds of people living and working in Paignton and Torbay attend community or one-to-one meetings or take part in social and community activities there. It’s located in an area of high deprivation and contributes directly to social equity and justice by supporting disempowered people. ECOE has awarded People’s Parkfield £1020.62 to purchase five electric tankless water heaters, one each for the Parkfield House kitchen and its toilets, supplying hot water to taps. This enables it to disconnect an expensive and carbon-intensive gas fired water heater currently. This will increase the financial sustainability of the CIC, enabling it to become a more robust landlord, safeguarding its provision to those organisations
2023/2024 grant outcomes
In 2023/24, the ECOE Community Fund awarded £9,549 to four local groups. We now have updates on the outcomes of these awards.
Exwick Community Centre:
ECOE Director Andy Extance and Exwick Community Centre chair of trustees Trevor Sharp celebrate last year’s ECOE community fund award
We awarded £3,024 to enhance insulation in Exwick Community Centre, ensuring greater energy efficiency and comfort for users throughout the year. “Straight away the landing at the top of the stairs felt warmer than before,” said Trevor Sharp, chair of trustees. “The biggest change is in the kitchen which was very cold before as it had gaps above the false ceiling with no insulation above. So, comfort in the winter is already better. We look forward to cooler temperatures throughout the building in the summer and reduced gas bills in winter.”
Hurly Burly Nursery:
Received £5,000 to install a new heating system featuring air-source heat pumps and electric radiators, crucial for maintaining a warm environment in a facility located in an area of high deprivation. This enabled it to launch of 70 new childcare spaces at its flagship nursery in Tiverton. After acquiring the building from Petroc College, Hurly Burly wanted to double its capacity in advance of the new funding for 9-month to 3-year olds from April 2024, but lacked the heating needed to make the new space useable. The nursery previously operated from one side of the building on the Petroc College campus but has now expanded to have a nursery on one side and a pre-school on the other with separate entrances and gardens.
ECOE’s grant for energy efficient heating let the Hurly Burly Nursery open a new building
Clare Berry, Managing Director, said “The grant from Exeter Community Energy has been transformative and meant that we can double in size and offer more local families the extended childcare they need and are now entitled too from April 1st. We are warmer and able to operate in all weather which the children love. Our new space is great news for the local area and for families who may have struggled to find childcare as spaces fill up. We can now open 2 new classrooms dedicated to new families and children.”
LOVE Food CIC
We granted LOVE Food CIC £1,000 to run five cookery sessions, teaching participants how to prepare affordable, healthy meals using minimal electricity, helping to foster a more energy-conscious community. ran 5 energy saving cooking sessions at the LOVE Food community food hub from September 2024–February 2025. These included sessions using air fryers, slow cookers, hay boxes, as well as raw food, and meals made with kettles, and microwaves.
LOVE FOOD CIC used ECOE’s grant to run energy efficient cookery sessions
Attendees made spicy roasted vegetables and chickpeas with couscous and air fried tofu in Thai style salad; slow cooker vegetable soup and flat breads; rice paper rolls and miso soup, haybox lentils and rice, and rice pudding, and Moroccan chickpea salad and tabbouleh. At one session, Jess Hayward gave a talk about energy saving in the kitchen. In total 35 people attended the sessions.
Pippins Community Centre
We awarded £524.58 to improve energy efficiency in this Grade II listed building. “Our community centre is now warm and toasty, the insulation is lovely and secure in the loft,” said Reverend Kay d’Albertanson, Centre Director. “The centre is so much warmer, we’ve turned our radiators down to 1, which will reduce our bills. Thanks so much for supporting us.”
