Community buildings play a vital role in bringing people together and delivering essential local services. From community centres and village halls to sports clubs and cafés, these spaces are at the heart of local life, providing places for connection, wellbeing and collaboration. But ageing buildings and rising energy costs are putting increasing pressure on the organisations – and volunteers – that run them.
A new report from Groundwork, Through the Roof, highlights the need for long-term investment in community buildings to help create greener, stronger and more resilient communities.
The report builds on the findings of the VCSE Energy Efficiency Scheme, a Government-funded programme delivered by Groundwork alongside Locality, Energy Saving Trust, Centre for Sustainable Energy and Social Investment Business. The scheme supported more than 1,100 voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations across England through independent energy assessments and capital grants for improvements including solar panels, insulation, LED lighting and heating upgrades.
The programme demonstrated the potential for energy efficiency investment to reduce running costs while helping organisations protect the future of the buildings from which they deliver vital services. However, it also highlighted the barriers that can prevent improvements from being made, including poor building condition, limited organisational capacity, difficulty finding suitable contractors and the complexity of energy efficiency projects.
These challenges can be particularly significant for smaller organisations, many of which rely heavily on volunteers and have limited resources to invest in their buildings. For those already facing financial pressures, poor energy efficiency can threaten their ability to keep delivering essential services, while knowing where to start with improvements can be another barrier.
Groundwork East’s Sustainable Business Services (SBS) team provides independent and impartial energy efficiency advice to VCSE organisations, including energy audits to help them identify where cost and carbon savings could be made. The audits can also provide useful evidence to support organisations in accessing future grant funding for energy efficiency improvements. Learn more here.
As the UK’s Warm Homes Plan develops, the report argues that community buildings should be part of the conversation around a fair and effective transition to a warmer, greener future.
The findings reinforce the value of practical, accessible support to help VCSE organisations improve energy efficiency and build more resilient and sustainable community spaces.
Read the full Groundwork report here: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/through-the-roof-vcse-report/
