In celebration of Village Halls Week 2024, we caught up with Sally Scales, chair at the bustling Whixley Village Hall, to hear about the hall’s impressive green project to transform their old and inefficient heating system.

Sally discussed why the green initiative is so important to her community: “Our village hall truly is the hub of our community, with regular social events taking place including badminton sessions, dance classes, pantomimes and festive parties. The hall is regularly used by visitors of all ages, so preserving it for years to come is hugely important to us all.”

To ensure that such a large project was a success, Whixley Village Hall’s committee came together to share the responsibilities. Sally explained: “Our green project is truly a team effort, with many of the committee members getting involved in different aspects of managing the project.”

Sally continued: “We knew we’d need funding to undertake our green initiatives, so we contacted Community First Yorkshire and with their help we were able to gain support and advice about funding applications, which proved pivotal in gaining funding for the project.

“Using the available grants, we’ve been able to install cavity wall insulation and will soon be implementing air source heat humps, installing solar panels on the roof and upgrading our radiators.”

Sally shared her top piece of advice for fellow village halls who are considering making a change to ‘go green’: “Just like our village hall, many others were built decades ago, and over the years better technology has become available and it’s important to make a change to help preserve our halls for future generations. It may be difficult to know where to start, so be sure to ask for help and enquire about readily available grants.”

Located halfway between Helmsley and Malton lies the picturesque village of Hovingham and its popular community village hall. With a modern kitchen, large main hall and fast wi-fi, the hall has become the bustling heart of the community and is regularly the host of a monthly market, community cafes, bowls club and more.

We caught up with Mark Wilson from Hovingham Village Hall and Frank Colenso, project lead at Project Purple, who regularly run a repair café and helped to install electric vehicle charging points at the village hall.

Frank discussed the green initiatives that the venue has installed: “Project Purple’s aim is to support the Hovingham community in achieving a carbon neutral status. To do this, we’ve undertaken many projects, including installing electric vehicle charging points at the village hall, enabling residents and visitors to gain easy access to electric charging.

Mark commented on the charging installations: “The electric charging points have been a brilliant way to work towards becoming a greener community. At first we were worried that they’d be an expense to the village hall, but after liaising with Project Purple and Community First Yorkshire, we’ve been able to get grants in place and have the costs reimbursed by our energy provider.”

In addition to the charging points, the village hall also hosts quarterly repair cafes. Frank explained: “The repair cafes have been incredibly successful and allow residents and visitors to bring their belongings, including clothing, furniture and jewellery, to get fixed by our expert repairers. Last year, 150 people visited Hovingham’s repair café, and we managed to repair 60 items.”

Mark added: “The repair cafes have been an incredible way to waste less and repair more, and we are dedicated to continuing them throughout 2024. No matter how big or small a green project is, every little helps in creating thriving communities.”

Learn the pros and cons of smart heating in Michael’s blog.

Take a look at our quick guide to help you fund a green project.

See answers to frequently asked questions we receive in relation to energy and green technologies from community buildings and village halls.

Join our Community Buildings Network to gain support with managing your community venue. Areas of support include good governance, safeguarding, finance and funding.

Many people wish to live a more sustainable life which has led to an increase in voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations working to waste less and reuse, repair and recycle more. Responding to this need, we’ve set up a Reuse network to bring together VCSE organisations interested in reuse.

This toolkit brings together simple-to-understand and useful resources to help individuals, communities and charitable organisations take steps to reduce their environmental impact and tackle climate change at a local level.