Lottery windfall for Orange Lodge

Eglinton Orange Lodge has been awarded a grant of 8,754 from the Big Lottery Fund's Energy Efficient Venues programme which offers Lottery cash to community groups to carry out energy efficient improvements to their community venues to make savings on their heating and lighting costs and benefit the environment.

The group will use the grant to carry out a number of energy efficiency improvements to their 75-year-old Eglinton Orange Hall, so they can reduce heating and electricity costs, make the hall warmer and more comfortable, and put more money into running activities and events for the local community.

Secretary Stephen Burns explained that the money will be used to insulate walls, cover the brick work in the interior walls with wood, replace the suspended ceiling and insulate the roof space above it and replace hall's oil fired boiler.

"The hall is based in Eglinton village," said Stephen. "It was built back in 1935 and it has been a long time since there has been any work done on it.

"It's used for regular meetings, church activities, birthday parties and special celebration events and it is a focal point for many people in the local community. But due to its age there can be issues with damp when there are lots of people in the hall and it can be quite cold, especially in the winter, because of the lack of insulation.

"The improvements we make will mean the hall will be warmer and more comfortable for local people who come along, and it will become much more cost effective.

" We will be saving money that we can use to continue to improve the hall for everyone who uses it."

Frank Hewitt, the Big Lottery Fund's NI Chair said: "The Energy Efficient Venues programme supports community organisations to carry out energy efficiency improvements to their venues that help them make savings during this difficult period of recession, and have a positive effect on the environment."

"Organisations can apply for two grant sizes through the programme.

"Grants of 2,000 - 10,000 are available for groups to carry out vital improvements such as double glazing, insulation or installing a more energy efficient heating system.

"And grants of 15,000 - 50,000 could give organisations the opportunity to install technology like solar panels, wind turbines and wood pellet boilers.

"The programme is open for applications and we are encouraging community organisations across Northern Ireland to apply for funding."

Information and application packs for the Energy Efficient Venues programme are currently available and can be accessed by visiting the programme pages of our website www.biglotteryfund.org.uk or by calling the Big Lottery Fund's Information and Events team on 028 9055 1455.