Hedleyhope Parish Council receives £4,000 for it to become a crisis hub to support its residents of Hedleyhope, Durham.
The purpose of the Foundation funded project was to provide the necessary equipment to support our community during emergency events.
Following the winter storms in 2021-22, during which East Hedleyhope was without power for several days, the Parish Council developed a Community Emergency Plan designed to help residents in similar situations in the future. The Plan focussed on using our village hall as a community hub where residents could gain practical support including access to hot meals and drinks, a generator to provide power to charge mobile phones, and equipment such as torches and thermal blankets. In addition, volunteers were sought to act as points of contact in an emergency and to check in on neighbours who might need extra help.
With the grant funding, the Council was able to purchase the necessary items to be able to put its Community Emergency Plan into action in the future, if needed. The Parish Council is now better equipped to deal with longer power cuts and to effectively support its community.
The challenges for Hedleyhope, Durham, residents
After being impacted by power cuts in winter 2021/22 the council identified a need to increase their energy resilience.
The solution for Hedleyhope, Durham, residents
The Parish Council identified that a generator and resilience kit was their best solution to allow the hall 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 £4,000 donation to go towards a generator and resilience kit.
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.