Village Hall Charities are becoming increasingly concerned about how they will continue to operate due to the increase in their energy bills. There is currently no energy price cap in place for village halls, meaning many operate under the same “business tariff” guidelines that a large company turning profit does.  In addition, Village Hall Charities are penalised by the Climate Change Levy which results in an added taxation of 20% if they use over their ‘de minimis’ value of energy.

Village Halls are charities whose objects are to provide local provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of individuals who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, financial hardship, or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving the conditions of life of the inhabitants.

At CCB we are receiving stories of Village Hall Charities who are concerned about how they will be able to afford to pay energy bills and keep facilities and local activities going over the next few months. There is a concern that passing on price increases through hire charges to those providing activities and services will ultimately fall at the feet of locals who may not be able to afford to continue using the hall. It will be the most vulnerable, elderly, young families and socially isolated who will be the ultimate victims of this crisis.

 It is interesting that the government have prioritised funding within the Department of Transport for transport in rural areas to limit social isolation, as many of the village halls that would host the events and activities necessary to combat social isolation and loneliness are on the verge of closing. Tackling loneliness with transport fund

Focus and investment are needed to ensure that village halls and charities can continue to operate – starting with a charity tariff on energy bills so charities and village halls are not stung by business tariffs. The current system where charities are regulated by the same terms as businesses is unsustainable.

CCB want to ensure that more is done to protect charity properties from closure as their services are vital for the community – not only in Berkshire but across the country.

We are asking our stakeholders, partners, beneficiaries and influencers to;

•          Support & endorse this issue on social media and within your contacts. Use the hashtag #VillageHallEnergyCrisis

•          Support for CCB (Connecting Communities in Berkshire) to open this conversation with energy providers.

Write to your local MP requesting that they;

•          Help to explore the possibility of a charity tariff for charity premises including village halls.

•          Acknowledgement of the importance of charity premises and Village Halls in your area. 

•          Lobby for grants programmes, to be offered to SMEs and Charities with premises for greener energy solutions. 

If you want to know more about the issues facing village halls, please contact us or our Community Building Advisor Kate on Kate.Meads@ccberks.org.uk

Our national body, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) joins calls for urgent, decisive, and sustained action to tackle the fuel crisis, but insists the specific vulnerabilities and needs of rural households must not be overlooked.

Estimates of the number of people who will find themselves in situations where they cannot afford to heat their home this winter are staggering. The End Fuel Poverty Coalition estimates that following the anticipated Ofcom price cap rise in October, approximately 7 million households in England will meet the official criteria of being in fuel poverty, up from 3.2 million households in 2020.

Rural communities have tended to be forgotten in the debate about fuel poverty. However, recent research suggests that some rural parts of the country such as Cornwall and County Durham are amongst some of the places most affected. Across the country, 607,000 rural households are expected to be fuel poor this winter which is equivalent to 30.3% of the population in the countryside.

Simon Francis, Coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition said: “The scale of the fuel crisis facing us this winter means that no part of the country will escape this societal blight and should be considered a national emergency. Our data shows that many rural households will find themselves in financial difficulty for the first time this year.”

In response to the findings, Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) has published a briefing outlining what it sees as the rural characteristics of fuel poverty and the actions it believes are needed to avert crisis in the countryside this winter.

Speaking of the situation, Richard Quallington, Executive Director of ACRE said, “The fact rural parts of the country are some of the worst affected is no surprise to us. Much of the housing stock in the countryside is older and more difficult to heat and many households still depend on heating oil which is not subject to the price cap. This, combined with typically lower rural incomes and the cost of travelling to access jobs and services is creating the perfect storm in the countryside.

The challenge for policy makers is twofold. They need to find ways of getting more financial support to the people who most need it, and this requires more creative localised responses in rural communities. And there also needs to be a longer-term plan for improving the energy efficiency of homes which is suited to the fabric of older buildings. The needs of rural communities cannot be overlooked”.

Read the full briefing here.

Following the Lionesses’ inspirational UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 win, Greenham Trust is launching a £30,000 Football for Fitness Fund to help girls and women and people of all ages and abilities play the sport to help them get more active and healthier.

Local schools, sports clubs, community groups, Scouts, Guides, Brownies are invited to apply for up to £1,500 in grants for new initiatives, with funds available to buy equipment or sports kit, pitch hire, coaching costs or qualifications and to cover volunteer costs to organise football sessions.

The fund is specifically to use football as a catalyst to support the improvement in physical and mental health and wellbeing with the well-documented accompanying positive social benefits the game has. 

Every successful grant applicant will also receive a Greenham Trust branded football. 

Launching the Football for Fitness Fund Greenham Trust Chief Executive Chris Boulton said: “We were all so proud to watch the Lionesses win England’s first major football tournament for decades with their ‘can do’ attitude and incredible self-belief which inspired the whole nation. We want to use that momentum to encourage all girls and women, whatever their age or ability, who wouldn’t normally have access to the game, to have the opportunity to get involved in football so they can improve their health and mental wellbeing. What better way to start getting more active than to play football.”

Endorsing the Football for Fitness funding programme, Head of Delivery at Berks & Bucks Football Association Jon Wood added: “After hosting such an inspiring UEFA Women’s Euros, it provides us with an exceptional opportunity to impact lives across West Berkshire via increasing activity levels and reaping all of the benefits that go with this. Female football within our area has grown tremendously over recent seasons, and we hope the success of this unprecedented tournament will accelerate this even further across all areas of the game. The resource that Greenham Trust are investing, offers our clubs and other local organisations the opportunity to develop new provisions, as well as build on existing delivery.”

The Greenham Trust Football for Fitness Fund is now open to applications and will run until March 31, 2023. It is an inclusive fund and will focus on benefitting all disadvantaged, gender inclusive and hard-to-reach groups. If successful there may be more funding available.

The Fund is now open to applications via The Good Exchange funding and fundraising website and for full eligibility criteria and details of how to apply please visit https://greenhamtrust.com/greenham-trust-grant-funding/our-current-funding-opportunities/