A power struggle is over in an East Hampshire town as energy bills may have been consigned to history in a local venue.

Whitehill village hall is nearly completely energy independent thanks to a five-figure investment in a host of green measures.

Some £38,000 has been spent on a variety of energy-saving measures with support from EHDC and Whitehill Town Council (WTC).

Trustees found inspiration from above as they decided to make the building more efficient when replacing its roof.

They installed solar panels and batteries to store energy and replaced the gas boiler with a more environmentally friendly heating system which can also cool the hall on hot days. 

Air conditioning units have been installed in the small meeting room, café room and kitchen and the main hall.

Developer contributions, WTC funding and a grant from EHDC’s Climate Community Action Fund to help local communities reduce their carbon emissions all helped.

Andy Tree, Catherine Clark, Kirsty Mitchell and Mike Steevens provided funding from their EHDC councillor grants to change old inefficient heaters in the cloakroom areas for more efficient temperature-controlled ones. 

Alan Waterhouse said the improvements have all been made within the last two years thanks to council help.

“We have moved the heating of the hall to a more environmentally friend system which, thanks to the grants awarded, will help us maintain and control the expenditure on electricity and gas, which is almost nil now,” said the village hall chairman.

Cllr Penny Flux, Climate Action Assistant portfolio holder for EHDC, said: “This project shows the transformative effect that community grants can have. 

“The village hall is now a shining example of a building fit for a carbon neutral future. I hope it will provide inspiration to other community groups around the district of what is possible with the right support.”