A grant has funded a community lifeline via a vital village hall making sure the local residents are looked after in the event of an emergency.

Hedleyhope Parish Council have been looking for ways to improve their village hall and make it more resilient during the winter months.

That's when they were alerted to the grant funding available for resilience projects in the North East, Yorkshire, and northern Lincolnshire via Northern Powergrid Foundation. 

Northern Powergrid Foundation is the charitable arm of Northern Powergrid, and passionate about being able to support innovative organisations and community projects addressing energy-related challenges including fuel poverty, energy resilience and the net zero transition.

Representatives from Hedleyhope Parish Council applied for the grant to create a winter survival packs for those in the village, should their power go off this winter.

They used the money to purchase an electric generator, that can charge everyone in the villages phone, a stovetop kettle, thermoses, thermal blankets, extension cables, head torches, wind up radios, and much much more.

All things that are vital to keep the village going during an extreme weather event and they are all housed at a central location to bring the community together when they need it most.

Dr Sarah Woodroffe, Hedleyhope Parish Council Chair, said "The hope is we don’t need to use any of the supplies this winter but it's better to be prepared and ready if we need to help our community.

"This village hall has been here since 1932 and the village has seen a lot of change since then. In recent years the population has gotten older, so it's important that people know there is support available to them.

"The hall is now a lifeline, not just during power cuts but any extreme weather event. People know they can come here as part of our new resilience plan, they can charge their phone, get hot food and drinks, check on their neighbours and contact friends and family.

"We want more people to know that we have the capabilities to look after our residents should they need it."

Hedleyhope Parish Council received £4,000 of funding to become a crisis hub to support its residents in Durham.

Today, a trustee from the Northern Powergrid Foundation is celebrating their ability to support those who really need it, and making sure that others are prepared this winter.

Louise Lowes, Northern Powergrid Foundation Trustee, said "Being able to empower local communities to support themselves in the event of an emergency is something we are very proud to do at the Northern Powergrid Foundation.

"Looking after our communities is something we strive to do via these grants and it's wonderful to be able to see where the money is being used to improve the lives of those in Hedleyhope parish."

Applications for the next round of grant funding are now open until 14 October 2024.  

Visit northernpowergridfoundation.com for more information, which includes Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), eligibility criteria, grant making policy and instructions to start your application.