Project summary
Tynedale Rugby Football Club is a sports venue which has a vast membership of approximately 350 children. The club also runs four senior teams, giving a total of 500 people in and out of the venue weekly.
The club received an energy audit and decarbonisation plan and was awarded grant funding towards lighting for the indoor bar and external lighting for the pitch.
The estimated annual energy cost savings for the business is £6,184, with an annual carbon saving of 6.1.
We spoke to John Austin, Governance and Facilities Manager, about the positive impact the grant and lighting improvements have made to the club and its users;
“Our energy costs were going up, and we needed to upgrade our outdoor lighting from halogen lights to LED to help reduce this, but we simply couldn’t justify the expenditure that was required to replace the lighting ourselves. We also needed to replace a few indoor lights in the bar area, and we wanted to do our bit to reduce our carbon footprint.
“When we heard about these grants, we jumped at the chance to get some support to make these changes, and it has allowed us to do it quicker.
When asked about the improvements to the business following the work, John said:
“Being able to go ahead with the lighting upgrades has allowed us to use a larger outdoor area, and it has provided a much safer environment for the teams practising on the pitch. Even the changes to the internal lighting has improved the space as it was pretty dark before. It has also enabled us to become a little more eco-friendly at a reduced cost to our business.
“In terms of the impact on energy costs, we haven’t had the lights installed long enough for us to do a comparison, but we are pretty confident they will be lower.
“We have had a lot of positive feedback from our members who have been mightily impressed with the difference the new lights have made, and so have we.
For any business thinking of applying to the scheme, John’s advice is:
“Make sure you engage with people at the earliest possible stage of the process, and don’t be frightened to ask for help. There is nothing wrong with asking for advice from people who have more knowledge and experience in this area than you. The consultant from the scheme was great and helped us to find appropriate suppliers for our quotes, which enabled us to put a successful proposal together, which ultimately secured us the grant to go ahead with these improvements.”
BEST can provide a range of fully funded energy efficiency support including free energy audits for businesses and a grant scheme designed to help cover the costs of improvements. Helping businesses to reduce running costs and help reduce the impact of operations on the environment.
The BEST energy efficiency project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with the North of Tyne Combined Authority and Gateshead Council as the lead authorities. BEST aims to reduce energy use and costs in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) in Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Gateshead.