A VILLAGE hall in rural Somerset has ‘gone green’ after installing solar panels and a storage battery.

Curry Mallet and Beercrocombe Village Hall has completed an Energy Reduction Project, with thanks to funding from the National Lottery and the Somerset Community Fund.

The work, carried out by AVS Ltd who donated labour for free, will see the hall not only generate its own power, but also gain significant independence from the grid and contribute financially as a result of feed-in tariffs provided by Octopus Energy.

“The hall has also been able to replace an aged heating system with an energy-efficient infra-red installation with funding from ACRE Platinum Jubilee Fund, National Lottery and with donations from user groups and a generous anonymous donation,” a spokesperson said.

An open day at the hall

“In addition, funding was granted to the hall’s Short Mat Bowls Club from Sport England which enabled them to buy a motorised mat-handling machine.

“The success is the result of efforts by the hall fundraiser Chris Dale and others on the committee who assisted in raising a substantial sum for these improvements.”

The hall hosts a number of regular clubs and groups and holds music and other fund-raising events, as well as being available for hire.

For more information, see www.currymallet-pc.gov.uk/the-parish/village-hall, or email cmbvillagehall@gmail.com.

Meanwhile, on Friday, January 31, the hall will host a Take Art production, Larkhall: Piano of the Future, which organisers say will weave ‘music, art and technology’ to create a ‘unique, unforgettable piano concert that pushes the boundaries of productivity’.

For more details and to buy tickets, visit https://takeart.org/whats-on.