Longframlington Memorial Hall receives £20,000 to support residents of Longframlington, Northumberland, with solar panels and battery storage.

Longframlington Memorial Hall, situated within the small village of Longframlington in Northumberland, received £20,000 from the Northern Powergrid Foundation in support of solar panels and battery storage to provide power and emergency battery backup to the residents of Longframlington.  

With support from the Foundation the hall been able to improve its resilience to electricity outages and responsiveness to major emergencies with the installation of solar panels and battery storage by ensuring that there is an electrical supply even when the mains power supply fails. This enables the hall to continue to perform its role as a rest centre within the Longframlington Emergency Action Plan for the parishes of Longframlington and Brinkburn.  

The funding enabled the installation of a solar panel array, supported by a battery storage system. Separately, an automatic transfer switch, which automatically disconnects the building from the local distribution network, if the mains supply fails. All minimise disruption in the event of a power failure and also reduces the energy usage and therefore benefit from a reduction in the electricity bills. 

Simon Hadden, Longframlington Memorial Hall Chair of Trustees said “The main purpose of the community project was for the hall to be resilient to emergency power interruptions which allows our community to use the hall for four days by utilising the energy stored. It’s an added bonus that the kit will reduce the hall’s electricity consumption and will result in lower energy bills. With the increased cost of living and having limited disposable funds, any cost saving initiative is very important to our community and the longevity of the hall.”   

Longframlington Memorial Hall photo caption L-R: Emma Beal, Longframlington Memorial Hall Trustee, Anne Haswell, Northern Powergrid Foundation Project Manager, and Simon Hadden, Chair of Trustees Longframlington Memorial Hall. 

The challenges for Longframlington, Northumberland, residents

Due to the rural location and possibility of power interruptions at Longframlington impacting the services offered at the Northumberland County Council identified centre would have on the essential services offered to the local community the trustees identified a need to increase their resilience. 

The solution for Longframlington, Northumberland, residents

The trustees of Longframlington Memorial Hall identified a need for solar panels and batteries to improve the building's resilience to make it more accessible and a source of support to residents of Longframlington and Brinkburn in times of adversity. 

Support from the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The Northern Powergrid Foundation supported the community project with a £20,000 donation to go towards solar panels and energy battery storage. 

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.

Interested parties should visit our 'who and what we fund' page to understand what support may be given to other community projects.