The Mitcheldean Community Centre

A smart retrofit that benefits the environment and the community

Background

The Mitcheldean Community Centre, a cornerstone of local activity, recognised the growing need to modernise their facilities and reduce rising energy costs.

Understanding the importance of sustainability, they took the proactive step of conducting a detailed carbon footprint assessment. This allowed them to pinpoint key areas where both costs and carbon emissions could be reduced, while identifying the actions with the greatest potential impact.

Thanks to a match funding opportunity provided from the Forest of Dean District Council through the Community Infrastructure Grant, the centre was able to take significant strides towards energy efficiency. They have successfully retrofitted the building with energy-saving technologies, making it a more sustainable and future-proof hub for the entire community.

Project

The Mitcheldean Community Centre’s energy efficiency transformation involved several key upgrades designed to reduce energy use and improve the comfort of the space.

Among the improvements, they installed energy-efficient LED light bulbs throughout the building, significantly lowering electricity consumption. To further conserve heat, door closers were added to ensure doors are not left open, preventing warmth from escaping.

In the kitchen area, they introduced a heat recovery ventilator that effectively removes moisture from the air while capturing and redistributing the heat, keeping the room at an optimal temperature.

The store room also received a makeover with the installation of a new insulated ceiling and an insulated wall. These changes prevent heat loss, especially when users move between the main hall and the store room.

Additionally, the centre upgraded its boiler system, incorporating a user-friendly app that allows for zonal heating control and remote monitoring. This smart system enables the centre to manage energy consumption more efficiently, even when the building is not in use.

Results

The kitchen area has seen a noticeable improvement with no condensation on the windows, no damage to the paintwork from damp, and a more pleasant overall odour.

The zonal heating and remote monitoring system have simplified the management of the centre’s heating, and with the added ceiling insulation in the storeroom, the building is retaining much more heat.

The full financial impact of these upgrades will become clearer by November 2025, once they’ve been in place for a full year.

The energy efficiency upgrades are expected to have a significant environmental and financial impact. Over the next 20 years, the centre anticipates reducing its carbon footprint by 1.89 tonnes of CO2, contributing to a more sustainable future for the community.

Looking ahead, the centre hopes to build on these improvements by implementing further energy-efficiency measures, including the addition of solar PV panels, an air source heat-pump and battery storage to continue reducing both costs and carbon emissions for years to come.

“We’re committed to making Mitcheldean Community Centre one of the greenest and most energy-efficient centres in the Forest, and potentially the whole of Gloucestershire. Our goal is to lead by example in sustainability and show how communities can reduce their environmental impact while staying affordable and accessible.”