Project summary
Holmeside Hall is a Labour and Social Club located in Dunston, Gateshead. It’s a popular venue for private events, including bingo, prize draws, charity functions, and even weddings. The club has four rooms, including a main bar, games room, lounge, and a concert room. The concert room can hold up to 250 people.
They received an energy audit/decarbonisation plan to help identify energy saving opportunities. BEST also provided technical support as part of the grant application process, helping to review the Solar PV proposed. They successfully applied for a grant towards Solar PV for their premises and a new cooling system for the cellar.
We spoke to Bar Manager, Callum Wilkinson about their experiences of the BEST grant. Callum said:
“Our biggest challenge was the increasing cost of electricity. The premises uses little gas as it is mostly electricity powered equipment. We needed to find ways of reducing these costs and we were interested in solar. After contacting BEST we were over the moon to hear that was something we could do.”
Speaking about the support they received Callum said:
“Funding was the lions share of what we were hoping for, but we found the energy advice we got from our consultant very handy. They were really helpful and informative and give us examples of what other businesses similar to ours had done and what might work for us.
Callum added:
“Following an energy audit and successful grant application we had a new solar system fitted for the roof and a new cooling system for the cellar.
We received a lot of advice as well which ran through all the options for us to save on energy costs. They were really in depth with the options available and I can’t say enough about how good the team were that supported us in this project.”
Speaking about the improvements that has been made to the business Callum said:
“The solar got fitted in Feb 2025 and we are already seeing the benefits come through from that, especially with the recent good weather.
Last time I checked we were just clocking 13.5 tonnes of carbon saved so far and our electricity savings have been a real shock, going from around £2200 down to a predicted £1100 per month. That’s huge for us.
Down the line the savings we are making on energy will also give us the possibility to hire more staff. It opens a lot of avenues for us as a business and gives us more wiggle room with our budgets.
Callum’s advice for other businesses considering applying was:
“The service from the BEST team is phenomenal. They are a really helpful bunch, who are really well informed and know what they are doing. I would encourage any small firms struggling with energy costs to speak to BEST and see if they can help. “