Shirley parish church is delighted to announce that we have been awarded a package of support from the Church of England’s Archbishops’ Council Net Zero Programme, with co-funding from Benefact Trust, to become a Net Zero Demonstrator Church project to help install electric heating in the Parish Church.
They write:
Our sister church, St John’s in Tidbury Green moved away from fossil fuels long ago, with electric heaters and a green tariff, but the Victorian grade 2 listed St James’s Church presents quite a challenge.
Our gas boilers are about 40 years old, unreliable, inefficient, dirty and in need of replacement. We can reduce draughts but insulation is not feasible and it will be more practical to heat the people than the fabric of the building, with its big roof space.
For the last 2 years, a group has been working on how we can heat the church with electric chandeliers and panels, similar to the infra-red heating installed in our Church Hall nearly 4 years ago.
Because our ideas are well developed and in line with the Church of England’s aim to achieve net zero CO2 emissions by 2030, we have been awarded Demonstrator status to help us realise our heating upgrade. We have been awarded a grant for just under 50% of the costs, paid for by the Benefact Trust and the Archbishops’ Council Net Zero Programme. We have partnership funding, donated by the PCC, the Friends of St James, two Parishioners and the proceeds of the tombola at the Christmas Fayre. This allows us to place an order now for installation in the autumn. The Demonstrator scheme also offers a wealth of information and support on the journey to net zero.
A Demonstrator parish monitors its project closely and shares the outcomes with the national team and anyone interested in a similar solution – so do please contact us if you are inspired by our efforts to become net zero. It undertakes to follow best practice in maintaining the church building and using energy economically on a green tariff.
The package of support includes: a stage one grant of up to £18,000 to provide independent assurance that the planned net zero works present the most efficient and effective net zero solution for the church. This offer comes with access to additional fundraising consultancy support if needed, and access to the Net Zero Programme’s independent Technical Advisory Service. We have also been awarded a stage two capital grant of up to £13,673 from Archbishops’ Council, and co-funding of £9,790 from Benefact Trust towards our retrofit net zero capital works installations.
There is still a long way to go but the project will give us a warm and welcoming building while fulfilling our commitment to care for Creation. As the project unfolds, we also have the opportunity to think about and discuss how we can live more sustainably as individuals and as a parish.
Any questions? Contact Kate Crocker.