Crosscanonby Community Centre in Maryport has received a £4,000 environmental grant from Cumbria County Council to help install solar panels.
The project aims to generate clean power from a renewable source, reduce carbon emissions that contribute to climate change and also reduce the cost of hiring the hall by using less mains electricity.
The county council approved the grant from its £38,000 Local Agenda 21 fund for 2004/5 to help pay for high-tech photovoltaic solar panels which will be mounted on the roof of the centre. The project has also attracted substantial funding from the Energy Savings Trust and Cumbria Waste Management.
The photovoltaic panels, due to be installed in July, will help raise public awareness of renewable energy’s role in helping to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Patrick O’Shea, project co-ordinator and founder member of the Community Centre Committee, said: "Community centres are focal points of community life and fitting solar panels makes a clear statement about what we intend to achieve with this project. It’s an ideal way of exposing the public to renewable energy technologies at work in the heart of their community".
As well as the direct benefits to users of the Community Centre, there will also be educational benefits for local school children and the project will send a positive message to the community about reducing the impact of our energy demands on climate change.
Councillor Lawson Short, cabinet spokesman on the environment, will award the LA21 grant to Crosscanonby community on Thursday the 10th of March at 10am in the centre.
He said: "This is a great project and exactly what we want to be supporting through our environmental funding - not only will the project benefit the community of Crosscanonby, but it will also have a global dimension by helping to reduce the emission of climate change gases, making a local contribution to tackling climate change".
The project has also had support from Crosscanonby Parish Council.