A local parish hall, which serves as a vital hub to its local community, has received funding from the Northern Powergrid Foundation to help provide a sustainable energy source to protect residents during a power crisis.  The Northern Powergrid Foundation, established by Northern Powergrid, the company responsible for the electricity distribution network that powers the lives of 8 million people in the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire, has provided funds for solar panels, heat pumps, battery storage and resilience kit for community projects across Hexham. 

Whitley Chapel Parish Hall

Specifically for Whitley Chapel Parish Hall, the Parish Council of Hexhamshire has received £17,485.28 to fund the creation of a warm space for Whitley Chapel residents and those nearby with the addition of a generator and funds to purchase resilience supplies to protect the local community during emergency disruption to power supplies.  

Jonny White, Hexhamshire and District Council Parish Clerk said: “We’re extremely grateful for the support from The Northern Powergrid Foundation. The funding will enable the opportunity to provide a safe, secure and resilience place within our hamlet and parish area, which will serve us well in the event of an emergency.” 

Whitley Chapel photo caption L-R: Cllr Gill Whatmough, Parish Clerk Jonny White, Cllr Marjorie Rastall (Chair), Cllr John Austin and Chris Mitchell, Regional Customer Service Manager, Northern Powergrid. 

Support offered by the Northern Powergrid Foundation

The funding awarded to the communities is part of a batch of successful applications to The Northern Powergrid Foundation, which was set up to support and improve local community energy resilience. The Foundation is proud to have funded over 40 unique and exciting energy resilience projects so far for communities within Northumberland and County Durham (totalling £560,000). These projects have largely been for the creation of, or the expansion of community hubs with energy resilience pieces of kit such as: generators, solar panels and heat pumps. 

Chris Mitchell, Northern Powergrid’s Regional Customer Service Manager said: “As representatives of both Northern Powergrid and The Northern Powergrid Foundation I’m delighted that customers within the geographical region that I serve have received funding to better support their community. I look forward to seeing more of the communities that I serve receive financial support from the Foundation funds; particularly those in remote areas to further support them in the event of a power cut or emergency situation.” 

More about The Northern Powergrid Foundation  

The Northern Powergrid Foundation will officially launch soon, with grant applications from communities across the North East, Yorkshire and northern Lincolnshire accepted in due course. The 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. The Foundation has worked with Northern Powergrid’s community partners to identify the best ways to create a positive and enduring impact for those worst affected by Storm Arwen in 2021.  

The Foundation website is now published an interested parties can raise their interest in being told when it is open to receiving applications. The Foundation will be open for applications biannually and the first round for applications to all communities served by Northern Powergrid will open very soon with applicants invited to apply online. Community groups interested in finding out more about applying for funding up to £20,000 should visit northernpowergridfoundation.com to be informed when the Foundation is officially open to applications.