Staplehurst Cricket & Tennis Club is delighted to announce it has been awarded a £13,500 grant from the Rural Community Energy Fund (RCEF) for a feasibility assessment in developing onsite renewables for the benefit of the Club and our immediate local community.
We are the first England & Wales Cricket Board-affiliated cricket club and one of the first recreational sports clubs in the UK to receive an RCEF award.
The assessment will explore how we can use renewables to meet our own energy needs. But also work with our members, neighbours and key community players, such as the Parish Council, to see how the people of Staplehurst might take advantage of onsite renewables including solar PV and solar thermal, and ground source heat pumps.
This a key element of the Club’s significant development plans and will feature prominently at our community Open Weekend over 22 and 23 September. Local residents are invited to drop in between 12 noon and 6.00 pm on either day to hear more about our plans and how they can both contribute and benefit.
Club Chairman, Joy Henson, says: “With over 450 members – 50% under the age of 18 – we are already the largest community and youth organisation in Staplehurst. But we also welcome between 5,000 and 7,000 other members of the community to our Club each year and, as the village grows, so will those numbers. We are committed to invest to better meet the needs of our users. That will impact on resource use but we are intent on ensuring both long-term environmental and financial sustainability. Our members, especially the younger ones, expect that of us”
Leading sustainability consultancy, Carbon Smart, has been appointed to deliver the feasibility study and will be working with the Club and key players over the coming weeks.
“There’s great potential for Staplehurst to save money, generate new income streams for the Club, and reduce environmental impacts. We’re working with the them to make sure our recommendations can work for the benefit of both the Club and its community.” Helen Troup, Senior Consultant, Carbon Smart
Location
Staplehurst Cricket & Tennis Club, Frittenden Road, Staplehurst, TN12 0DH
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