National Lottery money available to improve community buildings in Lisburn and Castlereagh

The £5 million Sustainable Community Buildings programme is offering grants of up to £50,000, to help organisations carry out improvements to their venues by installing technology like solar panels, heat pumps and insulation, saving money on energy bills and cutting carbon emissions.

Organisations taking part in the programme will complete free accredited carbon literacy training delivered by Business in the Community, which will help them look at ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Action Renewables will also support them to write and implement an environmental plan to consider steps to improve sustainability and cut costs.

Sustainable Community Buildings, made possible thanks to money raised by National Lottey players, is open for applications from Wednesday, January 8 to Wednesday, February 19, for groups with community buildings in Lisburn and Castlereagh City Counci, Belfast City Council and Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council areas.

Kate Beggs, The National Lottery Community Fund’s NI Director, said: “Sustainable Community Buildings is designed to kick-start an organisation's journey to sustainability. It’s the first step in our ambition under our new strategy to support communities to be environmentally sustainable.

“The programme will help organisations to improve the environmental performance of their building, save money through lower utility bills and reduce their carbon footprint. We believe this will also leave a legacy by increasing awareness and educating community organisations about the environmental challenges they face.”

Many community groups in Northern Ireland have already taken steps to be more environmentally sustainable. This includes Mazetown Rural Action Collective (MRAC) near Lisburn, that received National Lottery funding in 2023 to install solar panels and a battery.

Eric Hewitt from Mazetown Rural Action Collective (MRAC), said: "Our group serves the rural area of Mazetown, and our building is the only independent community facility within the area.

“We applied for National Lottery funding, to get solar panels to help us save money on bills and improve our environmental footprint. We also used it as an opportunity to educate local people on energy-saving initiatives.

“So far, any savings made have been put back into organising our range of activities and events, that bring the community together, helping us further address the needs of residents in our rural area.

“We have also been able to support the seven other groups that use the hall, by keeping rents low as a result of our reduced energy costs. Overall, installing the solar panels is helping us achieve our aim of making our area the best it can be.

“Without the help and financial support from The National Lottery, we would be spending more money on costs, rather than delivering activities for those that need it.”

The Sustainable Community Buildings programme opened for applications for different areas in stages during 2024-2025.

For more information visit The National Lottery Community Fund’s website www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/northern-ireland or contact their enquiries team on 028 9055 1455, [email protected]