Solar Powered
A community centre in Birmingham has benefited from an energy-saving upgrade scheme aimed at transforming their facilities by reducing their fuel consumption, lowering their carbon emissions and slashing their utility bills. The Fox Hollies Forum in Acocks Green has seen upgrades including the installation of over 50 solar PV panels, a 20kWh hybrid inverter and a system to monitor energy usage to help identify how to make further savings in the future.
The work was carried out by ​Birmingham based consultancy firm, the Acivico Group, with over £14,000 worth of funding through their Social Value Fund as part of the government's Local Authority Delivery (LAD3) scheme. A formal handover of the new retrofitted facilities at the community centre took place on Wednesday 5th June with attendees including Cllr Roger Harmer, as well as representatives from across the Acivico Group, Birmingham City Council and Dodd Group.
Marina Robertson, Managing Director at Acivico Group, said: "Understanding the importance of energy efficiency should become a primary focus for the UK as we strive to meet our net zero targets, and at the Acivico Group, we believe this starts with a community approach and empowering local people to act.
"The various sustainable installations at the Fox Hollies Forum, which have been funded through our successful Lad3 project, showcase how passionate about inspiring change while also supporting communities along the way."
Acivico Group's work on the LAD3 project, which saw them awarded The Retrofit Social Value Award at the Retrofit Academy Awards CIC 2024, focused on retrofitting nearly 700 properties across Birmingham and involved making building improvements to increase energy efficiency performance to help reduce fuel consumption and costs, lower carbon emissions and create more comfortable and healthier living environments for residents.
Daniel Camp, Head of Retrofit & Building Services Division at Dodd Group, said:
"The Fox Hollies centre is a valuable community asset for the people in Acocks Green and the surrounding area and Dodd Group are more than happy to have contributed towards the retrofitting of the building to create a more sustainable way of using energy. We are dedicated to fostering sustainable communities and have established a Social Value Fund specifically to support projects like this one"
"The recent success of LAD3 in Birmingham shows the level of output that can be achieved with community engagement, from supporting customers at the inception stage right through to completion and indeed giving them a voice on lessons learned and changes to be considered for future projects is priceless."
