Roydon United Reform Church has achieved its ambition to install solar panels to dramatically reduce its electricity bill, with the help of a £5,000 grant from our Community Benefit Fund.
Neil Sjoberg, an Elder of the Church said: “The panels and batteries have been in place for eight months and electricity bills through the summer have been halved plus the church received about £900 in feed-in tariff payments for the summer.
“All of this means the URC will not have to increase user fees for the next two years and continuation of community groups is assured.”
Founded in 1789, in the heart of the village. The church was renovated in 1981 and modernised in 2012 – removing fixed pews to enable multi use for community events. It is heated solely by electricity that had been costing more than £5,000 a year!
Around 300 villagers take part in activities every week at Roydon URC, fostering community spirit and helping provide respite from social isolation.
In the winter it provides a Warm Space for many and each week throughout the year a host of activities take place like Brownies and Guides, parent and toddler groups, Pilates sessions, coffee mornings, meetings and of course Sunday worship.
Activities are open to anyone and all cultures and communities participate.
“Our church is the centre point in the lives of many of our participants,” said Mr Sjoberg.
“Some pay to be part of an organised activity and others attend free events that we run ourselves like the coffee mornings, fairs or meetings.
“Many live on their own or are mothers or fathers at home looking after children without their own transport while partners are at work. Some, even with impaired mobility, walk from the other end of the village and back to attend.
“I found the Qualis Community Benefit Fund application process straightforward and relatively quick and easy to complete. The admin staff were friendly helpful and encouraging and we received a prompt decision which made planning the work so much easier.”