25 November 2009 10:26
Northumberland Village Hall gets warm feeling thanks to E.ON and ‘waste’ sheep fleeces

Energy company E.ON has awarded over £6,500 to Elsdon Village Hall Trust to install sheep fleece insulation to keep local people toasty.

The hall which serves a small remote village in the Northumberland National Park is currently being renovated. As the only community space in the area the hall helps bring local people together and is used by groups of all ages for a wide variety of activities.

The grant comes from E.ON's Sustainable Energy Fund which helps community groups and not-for-profit organisations develop sustainable energy measures.

The money will be used to install cavity wall insulation and Thermafleece roof insulation which uses "waste" sheep fleeces to make sustainable insulation with good thermal properties.

Tony Jenkin Jones, Community Relations Executive for E.ON, said: "We're delighted to be able to award Elsdon Village Hall Trust this funding, and were extremely impressed with their plans to use the fleeces that would normally be thrown away to reduce their impact on the environment and to save on costs.

Paul Cowie, Treasurer at Elsdon Village Hall, said: "The hall is a vital resource for the community and thanks to this grant from E.ON we'll be able to fully insulate the hall and reduce running costs significantly.

"By using Thermafleece we hope to generate more income for local hill farmers as well as keeping the hall warm and comfortable all year round."

The Sustainable Energy Fund is backed up by a dedicated web resource which provides top tips on energy efficiency and sustainability and full details of how to apply for a grant. To access it go to

www.eon-uk.com/sustainableenergyfund.  

Ends

Notes to editors:

• E.ON is one of the UK's leading power and gas companies - generating and distributing electricity, and retailing power and gas - and is part of the E.ON group, one of the world's largest investor-owned power and gas companies. We employ around 16,000 people in the UK and more than 92,000 worldwide;
• We're one of the leading green generators in the UK, with 20 wind farms located from Cornwall to Northern Ireland. We also burn biomass material mixed with coal in two of our power stations and have completed one of the UK's largest dedicated biomass power stations at Lockerbie. Combined, our renewable portfolio generates enough green energy to power the homes in a city the size of Manchester.

For more information contact:

Victoria Blake 02476 181 304