Eglinton goes 'green'

Eglinton Community Limited, which manages the hall, hopes that this will keep overheads in check, reduce carbon emissions and enable the continued provision of all their services to the local community at a reasonable cost.

The first practical step is the installation of solar thermal panels on the roof. This has just been completed and was grant aided by Low Carbon Building Programme Phase 2, the Northern Ireland Electricity SMART Programme and Big Lottery Fund / Awards for All Northern Ireland. The application process has been supported throughout by the Northern Ireland Energy Agency and also by a raffle held in 2008, which was generously supported by residents of Eglinton.

A spokesperson said: “Over the last year Derry City Council has been providing training for Community Centres in managing their energy costs. As a result of this training Eglinton Community Limited decided to take up the challenge of becoming a Green Community. During the last three months we have been working with the Energy Saving Trust’s Green Community Team to monitor our oil and electricity costs.

“This monitoring has already reaped rewards as our electricity usage has fallen and oil consumption has stabilised even during this very cold winter. Eglinton Community Limited with the support of the Green Communities Team hopes to take a lead in encouraging residents of Eglinton to complete Home Energy Audits. We will be handing out 300 of these energy audits over the next two months and these will be followed up by energy advice, grant applications and a Green Communities Launch on Friday 30th April, 11am-1pm.”

This will be the last of a series of events and exhibitions taking place in Eglinton Community Hall as part of Derry City Council’s Community Relations week (April 26th – 30th). For Home Energy Audits contact 71812303 or call into Eglinton Community Hall, 40 Main Street, Eglinton.

Community Relations, exhibition launch Monday 26th April 12noon (light refreshments) – exhibitions continue all week