Thursday 15 December 2011

Good news in St Enoder Parish

Earlier today, I had the pleasure to help show Julian German (Cornwall Council’s Cabinet Member for the Environment) around Indian Queens Victory Hall to mark the completion of the replacement of the original 1920s roof with a new insulated modern roof.

It was about twelve months ago that the Hall entered into the “U Choose 2 Retrofit” competition within the China Clay Area, when a public vote selected the hall as one of three community spaces to receive a package of carbon reduction measures.

The cost was over £100,000 and came from Cornwall Council. The monies were provided by the Eco-Communities Programme of Development funding awarded to the authority by the Department of Communities and Local Government.

During the works, it also became clear that the original roof structure has come under extreme pressure over the years and this had actually led to some of the roof trusses needing repair and strengthening.

The project has been a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Indian Queens Victory Hall to make really important and much needed improvements. I feel privileged to have been involved with the project and the Hall Committee are to be congratulated in driving the project forward.

Elsewhere in the Parish, three community halls have benefited from free photo-voltaic panels from Kronos Solar, the firm which recently installed a solar farm at Trefullock near Summercourt.

Arrays have been installed at Summercourt School, the New Memorial Hall at Summercourt and Fraddon Village Hall. The School and the halls will benefit from both the generation of electricity and an income through the feed-in tafiffs. It was also good that the arrays were up and running before the feed-in tariffs were changed on 12th December.

Kronos Solar has further panels which are likely to be made available for three further community buildings in the New Year. Watch this space for an update.

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