Renewable energy sources are at last being taken
more seriously, and nowhere more eagerly than in a little village which has taken in the
bigger picture.

A couple of miles out into the countryside from Huddersfield is Highburton and here the villagers are the first in the UK to take advantage of new legislation which has resulted in the installation of solar panels on Burton Village Hall, originally a Victorian school.

Funding has come from the Kirkburton Parish Council which has voted for an annual budget of £10,000 to fund the installation of renewable technology and energy conservation measures in community buildings.

It all sounds quite go-ahead, so why is Highburton the first in the country to benefit? The answer, as so often is the case, is that of having the right people, in the right place, at the right time. One of those is parish councillor Andrew Cooper who has lived in the Huddersfield area all his life and works for the Renewable Energy Association.

"There is a clear need for this kind of project right across the country," says Andrew. "We all know that with electricity, and all energy prices, rising all the time, as well as oil supplies and gas running low, it is going to come down to communities generating their own power in order to save on cost.

"Community buildings are the same as houses. They need to keep going and the people that use them need to be able to make sure that all bills can be paid. The solar panels we have installed here will produce something like 2,000kw of electricity each year. A normal household will use 3,300kw of electricity a year so what we're saying is that this project would save two-thirds of a normal household bill. I don't
think anyone could argue against that."

Vanda White has lived in the village of Highburton for the past 40 years and her family were once farmers here. She is a member of the Kirkburton and Highburton Community Association who own and run the hall having purchased it from the council. "We're a smallish rural community and our two villages of Kirkburton and Highburton are tucked under the Emley Moor mast," she says.

"In recent years we have improved all of the facilities in the hall and it is now used from 7.30 in the morning until 10 at night every day of the week by many community groups from line dancing to karate, and Brownies to an over 60s club.

"Our electricity bill for the hall is £3,000 per year but with the solar panels we're anticipating a saving of about £500 a year. That all makes our finances look a
lot healthier."

Andrew adds: "When people can actually see what is being saved, it starts a balance sheet in their heads and that's the way in which you can change people's perceptions. Any village can benefit in this way. It's all there in the 2006 Climate Change and Sustainable Energy Act and is available to any Parish Council.

"It's a real win-win because the stuff going back into the National Grid is generating an income and you no longer require the same amount that is generated from a power station."

"We will also be benefiting in the future," adds Vanda. "At present we are charged a climate change levy on our bills and with what we are doing that now makes us exempt."

Ex-teacher-turned freelance artist Geof Hickey and farmer Robert Barraclough are chairman and vice chairman of Kirkburton Parish Council.

Geof says: "We have a community that works well together in all of the villages that make up the parish and most seem to get involved."

Robert is a third-generation farmer who has lived in neighbouring Farnley Tyas all his life. "When I left school there were at least 10 farms in the immediate vicinity of where I live, now there are only two and a half," says Robert. "Things were a bit more laid back and everybody used to know each other. In my village the shop, post office and chapel have all gone and the church is struggling. But now community groups are coming back as there is a perceived need to rebuild communities, and I think it's vital that Burton Village Hall retains that sense of community spirit."

Andrew Cooper insists this is only the start. "We're looking at all the community buildings in the Kirkburton parish to see what we can do. It's not all about solar panels.

"We could be looking at renewable energy from ground-sourced heat pumps, biomass boilers, even hydropower. We're also looking at helping other village halls too and giving grants to community organisations for the future because this is actually going to reduce electricity costs and therefore make it easier to run village halls, so we're not just helping the environment we're also helping the sustainability of community organisations."

Making it real for those who use the facilities is also what Burton Village Hall is about and they have installed a meter, in the form of a scoreboard, which shows how much energy has
been generated and how much carbon dioxide has been saved.

All this from one smallish community whose major claims to fame in the past were as shovel and corset manufacturers, and a link with Oliver Cromwell, who it is alleged once got off his horse at Burton Cross, opposite the Smiths Arms.

Burton Village Hall hosts a publicity event for the scheme next Saturday, June 21, at 10am.