Thorner Net Zero Partnership

17/11/2024

Amazing results from Thorner Victory Hall so far! 🙌🏼

18/09/2024

Fantastic progress at Thorner Victory Hall! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

This may not look like the most exciting photo we’ve posted… But we are VERY excited to see the installation of our solar panels and storage batteries (pictured here) this week! 🤩
This is a massive step on our journey to reduce both our carbon footprint AND our energy bills, helping the environment and our running costs.

HUGE thanks to Thorner Community Fund for their financial contribution, to Thorner Net Zero Partnership for their support and encouragement, and Heron Electrical for the installation.

We will be posting more on this - watch this space! Meanwhile if you’d like to get involved or find out more about our Net Zero plan, please get in touch by commenting here or emailing [email protected]

13/08/2024

Introducing our community buildings...

THORNER PARISH CENTRE

This historic landmark in the village of Thorner nestles in the shadow of St Peter's Parish Church. It is known as the Parish Centre, and is a fine village hall used by the local community. Founded as a school in 1851, the original trustees were commissioned to provide for the education and moral well-being of the whole village community. In 1979, when it was replaced by a new Church of England school, the 'Old School' became a community facility. It soon established itself as a popular meeting place for countless organisations.

Regular groups include Yoga, Rainbows, Community Choir, Youth Club, Art Group, Beavers, Scouts, Exercise Class and Dance. We are also regularly booked for Children’s parties, funeral teas, reunions, retirement parties, an annual Christmas Fair and many other events.

Like any older building dating back to Victorian times, maintenance and upkeep is continually ongoing. We have 4 projects about to be launched which will improve our carbon footprint and help keep the Parish Centre going for another 100 years:

1. Renovation of the exterior
The old stone has eroded over time and is allowing penetrating damp in several locations. To avoid damp inside, the heating has to be kept to a minimum temperature year-round. We are now seeking funding to renovate the exterior stone to remove internal damp areas.
2. New Central Heating Boiler
Our existing boiler is sound but is 15 years old. We are looking to raise funds to replace with a more modern, energy efficient model.
3. New Internal Lighting
The existing lighting consists of 25 ceiling mounted fluorescent tubes. We are seeking funding to replace these with energy efficient LED lights.
4. Replacement of the sub-floor
In some areas there is erosion and decay of the underfloor joists which make parts of the original Victorian floorboards rather bouncy!

We are working with TNZP to raise awareness of these issues and to seek funding from local and national sources.

01/08/2024

Introducing our community buildings...

THORNER VICTORY HALL

Thorner Victory Hall was built in 1924 as a memorial to the 38 local men killed in the Great War. Funds for the building were raised by the people of Thorner and the hall was built on land donated by Lord Mexborough whose family were, and still are, major landowners in the area.

The hall operates as a Charitable Trust (registered number 1183822). All residents of the Parish aged 18+ are automatically members of the trust, and the hall is managed on behalf of the village by a board of voluntary Trustees. Their aim is to provide a multi-use facility for the use of people from the village and surrounding areas.

In addition to regular group activities such as Pilates, Badminton, Film Club & Pickleball, the hall provides facilities for Thorner-based groups/organisations to hold fundraising events, offering one booking per year free of charge. A number of ticketed events are held throughout the year including Comedy and Beer festivals, and live music, theatre and poetry events which are well attended by Thorner residents as well as wider audiences. It is also available to book as a venue for weddings, private parties, rehearsals and meetings.

The Victory Hall has in recent years improved roof insulation and replaced ageing windows with double glazed units. Lighting has been upgraded, and all of these measures have had a demonstrable impact on electricity consumption.

Their ultimate aim is to minimise dependency on non-renewable fuel, replacing the gas fired boiler with air source heat pump(s). The sustainability report for the Victory Hall (commissioned by the Thorner Net Zero Partnership and funded by Thorner Community Fun) identified that the installation of solar panels and associated battery storage would be a practical 'next step' towards that direction. The existing gas boiler is still serviceable, but when a heat pump system becomes a viable alternative, the solar panels would provide sufficient solar generated electricity to power it.

This first phase of the hall's net zero project has now been set into action, thanks to Thorner Community Fund who have awarded funds to match those raised by the hall's activities. Installation of solar panels and storage batteries is anticipated to take place in Autumn 2024.

01/08/2024

Introducing our community buildings...

'THE BUNGALOW' (Thorner Over 60's Association)

The Thorner Over 60’s Association is based at The Bungalow, 31A, Main Street and primarily provides activities for the 60year+ age range of Thorner. The Bungalow is a community
building widely used by Thorner residents of all ages for a variety of activities, and hosts the weekly Post Office service on Thursday mornings. The Association’s activities include weekly coffee mornings, lunches, armchair exercise classes, Spanish classes, discussion groups, a book exchange, and special events such
as talks, demonstrations and outings. There are currently 79 members and 70 of the members have been involved in at least one activity during the last year, many are regular visitors at the coffee mornings and lunches. 91% of members are Thorner residents.

Recently funding was granted by the Leeds Community Climate Change Fund to improve the energy sustainability of the Bungalow. This included increasing the thickness of the insulation in the loft and replacing the old rotten wood framed windows and door. The funding obtained will also provide for redecorating the interior of the Bungalow following the completion of alterations.

These works have made a massive impact to comfort levels inside the bungalow, which is now cosy and draft-free. The association expect to see a reduction in energy bills as a result!

Subsequent to the insulation work, it was discovered that issue with the exterior rendering, soffit and fascia boards were at risk of compromising the new insulation by potentially causing water ingress. Funding has now been awarded by Thorner Community Fund to address these issues, allowing the external works to go ahead and the building to remain watertight and well-insulated.

The Association are thrilled with the progress made to date and are looking forward to continuing their journey towards net zero!

05/06/2024

Welcome to our page!

Thorner Net Zero Partnership began at the end of 2022, when representatives of community buildings were invited to take part in sustainability discussions with members of Thorner Community Fund and local councillors. Faced with two major crises of climate and energy, the objective of the partnership was to improve energy efficiency of community buildings, reducing carbon footprint and running costs to help secure the long term future of the facilities they provide.

The partnership includes:
The Bungalow ( Over 60s Centre)
Thorner Parish Centre
St Peter’s Church
Thorner Victory Hall

Since forming, we have sought information and guidance from other community organisations, and jointly commissioned an energy audit, funded by Thorner Community Fund and carried out by D3 Associates (D3A). This report identified opportunities and priorities for energy reduction in each building. We meet regularly to discuss priorities, progress, sources of funding and advice.

We will be updating this page regularly with profiles of the 4 community buildings, details of the projects undertaken and progress towards achieving a more sustainable future.