Greet green heat - Bass Reflections
Bassenthwaite Reflections
While hot summer sun beckons, a Bassenthwaite visitor hub is celebrating a scorcher of its own.A £120,000 scheme to bring a woodfuel heating system into the hearts and minds of countless people has been fired up at Bassenfell Manor Christian Centre.
The green technology will show 3,200 annual guests the benefits of timber energy and slash heating costs by over 40 per cent into the bargain.
Community landscape programme Bassenthwaite Reflections has given a third of the overall price to support renewable energy in a place where huge numbers can be influenced.
Amanda Hancock, of Heritage Lottery Fund supported Reflections, said Bassenfell was the perfect place to showcase a system run on woodchips, sourced from Cumbrian woodlands.
She added: “We want to see our woodlands properly managed. They can provide rural jobs, habitats for wildlife and, in this case, the raw material for a very effective and environmentally friendly fuel.
“Bassenfell is used by many different residential and local groups. It’s a youth, training and outdoor holiday centre, bringing a wide cross section of people to the area. We wanted to support this scheme because so many will benefit and learn from it.
“We will be mounting a permanent exhibition showing the history and heritage of wood as a renewable fuel.”
The centre’s assistant manager, Penny Oxley, explained the biomass boiler represented a new era for the centre, where previous annual heating costs were £9,000 a year.
She said: “Using woodfuel will save us around £4,000 a year and we are very grateful to Reflections for helping us.
She added: “We are delighted the new system will significantly reduce our fuel bills. Our woodchip is being locally sourced and will provide security over the coming decades, as well as supporting the local economy.
The new 150kw boiler has been funded by Bassenfell, Reflections, the Lake District National Park Sustainable Development Fund and the Department of Energy and Climate Change.
Bassenthwaite Reflections is a Heritage Lottery funded programme. Reflections partners are made up of Environment Agency, Lake District National Park Authority, National Trust, Forestry Commission, Grampus Heritage and Training and Cumbria County Council.
For further information on any of the 22 projects in the Bassenthwaite Reflections Programme, contact Karin Crofts on karin.crofts@environment-agency.gov.uk or 017687 74785.
