Energy discussions at latest Community Buildings Event
20th May 2022
ACT’s online Community Buildings event on Saturday 14th May focused on energy – a key concern for many halls. Whether it’s the rising cost of energy, problems with your supplier, reducing your hall’s carbon footprint, ensuring the building is comfortable for those using it and appealing to new hirers, or all of the above, the subject of ‘energy’ is an important and often challenging one.
We were delighted to be joined by Hayley Oldfield, Energy Specialist from Utility Aid - the UK’s leading energy broker for the charity and not for profit sector - for an extended Q&A session answering specific questions from halls and discussing the wide range of support they provide.
From finding you a better energy contract, helping with supplier problems and inaccurate bills, to advising on renewable energy options and your journey to ‘Net Zero’, Utility Aid can help your hall.
One reason for overcharging, discussed at the event, is when the incorrect VAT rate is applied to a hall charity’s bill. Most halls should be charged a reduced 5% VAT rate, dependant on the total amount of energy used and the proportion of energy used for charitable non-business use.
Utility Aid offers a unique and free Invoice Validation Service, often recouping hundreds of pounds from past bills if they find you’ve overpaid. Over £3.8 million has been recouped for customers already.
This week, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) also released an updated version of their village hall information sheet 26 ‘Dealing with VAT on Fuel and Power’ with details of the reduced charity VAT rate. This and other ACRE information sheets aren’t available online, but ACT provides them free to Cumbrian halls on request.
Much discussion at the event was about renewable energy options and the importance of ensuring the building is well insulated and as energy efficient as it can be – there’s no point generating energy if it’s just going to be wasted!
It is clear hall committees are keen to make changes, but it can be difficult to know where to start and this is where a good energy survey/audit can help. Having a better understanding of your own building’s energy needs and the opportunities for improvement will help you to make better decisions to save money and energy, and provide a more comfortable and sustainable community facility.
The Centre for Sustainable Energy has a free ‘DIY’ energy survey for community buildings and for professional building surveys ACT’s recommended preferred provider for halls is Alastair Muir of A Muir Surveying.
Saturday’s event was part of ACT’s ongoing partnership with Utility Aid, to support community buildings across Cumbria with energy advice and information. It's not just halls that can benefit; Utility Aid can also help parish council premises, church and faith buildings, pre-school buildings and other premises owned or managed by charities or not for profit organisations. And by using the referral link: www.utility-aid.co.uk/contactform/ACT to request a free bill audit for your hall, or simply mentioning ‘ACTion with Communities in Cumbria’ when you make contact, you could also be helping ACT.
We’re also in discussion with Utility Aid about a collective purchasing scheme for community buildings in Cumbria. It’s in the early stages, but would your hall be interested in joining? We’ll be sharing more information about this as the project develops.
Thank you to Hayley for joining us from Utility Aid and to all of the hall volunteers who attended and took part in the discussions, not only with your questions and concerns, but also sharing your experience and knowledge. We’re pleased the format worked well for you all and received lots of positive feedback:
- “The Q&A was great, lots of shared questions, information, ideas and answers - it’s good to have a chat as well as people speaking”
- “It was useful to have an introduction to Utility Aid and understand the range of advice available”
- “Very informative, interesting to hear other hall’s experiences”
We hope to provide even more opportunities for networking and shared experience at our next free Community Buildings Event, to be held ‘in-person’ at Newbiggin Village Hall, near Penrith on Saturday 16 July 10am - 2pm (includes lunch). Register your place here.
We look forward to seeing you there and in the meantime, if you have queries for your hall, do get in touch. Please contact Hellen Aitken, ACT Development Officer and Lead Village Hall Advisor by Email: hellenaitken@cumbriaaction.org.uk or Tel: 01768 425 646