Reactive Grants Major Funding St George’s Church £42,500 (£30,000 from GCT and £12,500 from LSP)

St George’s Church is a step nearer to becoming the first church in the country powered entirely by renewable energy.
The Wash Common church received a £42,500 grant from Greenham Common Trust and West Berkshire Partnership to install solar photovoltaic cells and ground source heat pumps which would make it completely carbon neutral.

Local church members raised a staggering £115,000 towards the project and the project also received £38,000 from the Department of Energy and Climate Change via the Low Carbon Building Programme, and £10,000 from West Berkshire Council.

St George's Go Green Project Fundraising Manager Tom Linley said "We are very grateful for the tremendous support from the local community. If it wasn't for Greenham Common Trust we would not have been able to generate the extra funding we need to complete the project.”

In addition to these formal grants and donations, many local fundraising events have been taking place including a coffee morning and quiz night at the Town Hall on 20th March which raised more than £900. There are also many events planned including a concert at the church by the Apollo Big Band Jazz Concert on St George's Day, 23rd April, hosted by the former Mayor of Newbury, Kuldip Singh Kang.

Revd. Paul Cowan of St George's said: "I have been astounded at the level of support and commitment from within our congregation and the local community as a whole. To have that support boosted by these grants is a testament to what we are trying to achieve. We have a long way to go to reach our target but we are well on the way to providing a facility that is warm and welcoming whilst also shrinking our carbon footprint."