Congleton Hydro’s Post

Visitor Day! Sunday 20th, October. Would you like a chance to take a tour around Congleton Hydro? From time to time we offer guided tours around Congleton Hydro. Places are limited to 10 visitors in each time slot, tours take around 50 minutes. Please visit the website, select the number of visitors and your preferred time, and please only book if you are available. 😀 https://bit.ly/47WiGbo #visitorday #congletonhydro #visitcongletonhydro

During the night of Friday Sept 13th/early hours of Saturday, Sept 14th, some despicable person stole the two plant tubs from the entrance to Congleton Hydro. Supplied and planted by Congleton Hydro Volunteers with their own personal monies, these pots have been much appreciated by residents, passing walkers and school children. It is soul-destroying for all the Hydro Volunteers, who devote a lot of their time trying to make our community a great place to live work and play. We would appreciate you using your networks to broadcast this in an attempt to find the anti-community person(s) who did this. We would dearly like to find and identify the people who carried out this crime against the community. A suitable reward will be provided. Please forward any information to admin@congletonhydro.co.uk

People across the country are coming together in a two-week-long celebration of community energy 🔋 Since Archie started spinning in October 2021 685MWh of electricity has been produced (and sold). An amazing achievement by a group of volunteers! #EmpowerCommunityEnergy #CEF2024 #congletonhydro

Another site enhancement was to finally get around to “landscaping” the entrance to Congleton Hydro and to make it fully “accessible”. We’ve also installed a couple of benches (purchased as derelicts via a local auction and restored by Volunteers). These provide some seating for participants waiting for a hydro tour to start and a welcome respite for walkers on their way to The Gritstone Trail.

A question for our local politicians: Could you please share your thoughts on the importance of community energy in our constituency, and how they can contribute to the well-being and sustainability of our local community? #CEF2024 #EmpowerCommunityEnergy #congletonhydro

The latest news from Congleton Hydro & Solar is all wrapped up in the summer edition of the newsletter. View on the website. https://bit.ly/4cMZL4l

🚀 Get Funding for Your Green Project! The Congleton Hydro & Solar Community Trust is excited to offer grants for projects that aim to solve environmental and educational problems. If you are a green champion, budding engineer, scientist, or environmentalist, this is your opportunity to get the funding you need to bring your ideas to life. We are looking for proposals that promote understanding and protection of the environment, renewable energy, and sustainability. Your project could focus on educating others, popularizing green energy, or advancing community development related to the environment. We especially welcome projects that involve science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and are driven by enthusiastic and committed individuals. No project is too small, and we encourage young people with creative ideas to apply. The deadline for applications is June 30th, so don’t miss out on this opportunity to achieve your goals with the support of the Congleton Hydro & Solar Community Trust. https://bit.ly/4bg7sQb Visit our website to learn more about the guidelines and submit your application today. Let’s work together to create a better, more sustainable future. 🌱🛠️ #YouthInnovation #STEM #EnvironmentalGrants

💡 Turn Your Environmental Ideas into Reality! Do you have a brilliant idea to solve an environmental or educational challenge but need funding to make it happen? The Congleton Hydro & Solar Community Trust is here to help! We provide grants to support innovative projects that aim to protect and improve the environment, promote renewable energy, and encourage sustainability. Your project could focus on educating the public about environmental issues, demonstrating the benefits of green energy, or fostering community development related to the environment. We are looking for proposals that include science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics (STEAM) and are driven by enthusiastic and committed individuals. Whether you are a green champion, a budding engineer, or a passionate environmentalist, we invite you to apply for our grant. Young innovators are especially welcome, and no project is too small. Applications are open until June 30th, so don’t miss this opportunity to bring your ideas to life. Visit our website to learn more about the guidelines and submit your application. Let’s work together to create a sustainable future. 🌱🚀 https://bit.ly/4bg7sQb #Sustainability #GreenEnergy #GrantOpportunities

Congleton Hydro and Solar Community Trust (CHASCT) in 2023 were pleased to award a £1,000 grant to the Bromley Bloomers to assist with developing the Friendship Garden on Hillary Avenue, Bromley Farm. One of our team, Jill Dooney, went to meet Susan Mead who is the lead volunteer of the gardening project. Susan explained “Our group had been working on other green spaces at Bromley Farm, and decided to take up the challenge of developing a garden where we could plant fruit and vegetables for the community to share. We started in early 2023, by getting a digger to clear the grass that was growing on previously demolished flats. Rainbow planters were created and soil and plants were obtained to get the project off the ground. The most successful produce in this first year were green beans of several types, rhubarb, kale, raspberries and blackberries. Susan is proud that local residents took what they gathered home for dinner and sometimes she had to provide recipes for cooking! The grant that CHASCT gave has been used to buy wood to make raised beds, and bark chippings and liner to make the paths between them. There also was enough money to buy gardening equipment such as hoes, rakes and hoses. In October 2023, the group were recognised with a “Growing Together Award” from the RHS and BBC The One Show. This was launched to find community groups that are transforming green spaces and encouraging local people to try gardening for the first time. " The 2024 round of CHASCT grants will be opening on the 31st May. Have you got an idea for a project? #communitygrants #congleton #greengrants

Christmas has come early! 🎅 We are delighted to announce that Congleton Solar has exceeded the minimum target and has the green light for the project to go ahead thanks to a vote of confidence from Key Fund with a grant and loan totalling £100,000. Key Fund (https://bit.ly/4815QrN) is a social investor who provides funding to community and social enterprises that have traditionally been excluded and turned down by mainstream lenders. We hope that this news will encourage more investors to help us reach our maximum target of 530k. For comprehensive details regarding our community solar share offer, please visit our website at https://bit.ly/3GKgnvm or reach out to a member of the team at shares@congletonsolar.co.uk. The share offer concludes on the 31st of December. Join us on the journey to a greener 2024! #RenewableEnergy #GoingGreen #SolarPower #CommunitySolar #KeyFund #SocialInvestor #FundingOpportunity #AlternativeFinance #GreenEnergy #VoteOfConfidence #GreenLight #GrantAndLoan #CommunityEnterprise #InclusiveFunding #InvestmentOpportunity #CommunitySupport #SustainableFuture #CleanEnergy #RenewableResources #SolarShareOffer #InvestInSolar #CommunityImpact #SupportLocalProjects #Greener2024 #SustainabilityMatters #GreenInvesting