Westgate Village Hall receives £4,459.20 to support the residents of Westgate, Durham, with a generator and water heating.
Westgate Village Hall received £4,459.20 from The Northern Powergrid Foundation in support of generator connection points to finalise the villages’ emergency plan to being energy resilient during power outages and severe weather conditions by the village hall becoming a place of safety, warmth and light to the Westgate residents.
The funds provided the Westgate Community Emergency Group based at the village hall to put in generator infrastructure (isolating switches, cabling and generator connection points) at the three designated warm spaces/places of safety within the the village as well as improved boiler at the hall. During times of power interruptions it allows the emergency group to choose the best location at the time to provide support to the local community.
John Walker, Westgate Community Energy Group Coordinator said “Having three generator connection points across the village allows us to support our community at various hubs to provide them with warmth and light. We have also used the funds to expand our resilience planning with additional resilience materials such as wind-up radios, analogue phones and power banks that allow our community to stay connected with loved ones and each other during times of need”.
In the picture L-R: MP Richard Holden, John Walker, Westgate Community Energy Group Coordinator, and Chris Mitchell, Northern Powergrid Regional Customer Service Manager, outside of Westgate Village Hall.
The challenges for Westgate, Durham, residents
Due to the possibility of further power interruptions at Westgate impacting a vulnerable community the trustees identified a need to increase resilience on electricity.
The solution for Westgate, Durham, residents
The trustees identified a need for generator connection points and pieces of resilience kits to allow community buildings to remain open for the local community to safely reside during times of power interruptions.
Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation
The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £4,459.20 donation to go towards generator connections points and pieces of resilience kits.
More about the Northern Powergrid Foundation
The Northern Powergrid Foundation’s mission, complementing Northern Powergrid’s ambition to be a force for good in the communities it serves, is to support communities most affected by changes in the economy, environment, and society because of the shifting energy landscape. This will be achieved by supporting projects focused on helping to tackle energy resilience during emergency events, vulnerability, fuel poverty, levelling the rural divide, innovation, social support, and community collaboration. Funds are available to support the communities across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire served by Northern Powergrid.