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A CHRISTIAN community has been awarded more than £100,000 to construct a carbon neutral building for visitors.
The Othona Community, based at East Hall Farm, East End Road, Bradwell, submitted a successful bid to the East of England Development Agency’s (EEDA) Cut your Carbon competition.
A total of up to £103,000 will be used to provide a replacement for a condemned building which was used as a meeting place and dormitory by hundreds of visiting schoolchildren and visitors every year.
The new building has been described by the Othona Community and the EEDA as “highly innovative and designed to be zero-carbon in operation, achieved through very high thermal mass and the use of glass to maximise passive solar gain”.
The grant was one of four given in the region which totalled £200,000.
Alex Menhams, Cut your Carbon campaign manager, said:”We are delighted that we have been able to award £200,000 to four interesting projects in this final round of Cut your Carbon. All these projects have the potential to inspire community members and other communities to take action to reduce carbon emissions.
“We are committed to helping the successful communities develop business plans to secure their funding and make their projects a reality.”
Cut your Carbon is a campaign and funding competition, led by the EEDA, that aims to bring together communities in the east of England to tackle climate change.
Groups taking part use a community carbon footprint calculator to get help to become more energy efficient and use online social networking to bring their group together.
The Othona Community also helps to educate visitors about sustainable living and renewable technologies.
The Othona Community was founded in 1946 and is an open Christian community involving people of all faiths and none. A spokesman said: “We offer individuals, families and groups the chance to slow down, to get to know themselves and each other in beautiful, peaceful surroundings with wonderful walks and beaches nearby.
“Othona is a sense of community. All who come to the centres are part of the community, sharing meals, jobs and jokes, and contributing talents and ideas.”
The new building will provide a place for visitors to meet and stay.