Rishi is backing a community church’s efforts to make their Great Ayton base more sustainable.
Rishi is supporting the village’s Methodist Church in its aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the church and adjacent hall, which is used by a range of community groups.
During a visit to the church, he met members of the congregation, friends and users of the hall and talked to them about the £95,000 decarbonisation project.
The project involves replacing an ageing gas boiler with air source heat pumps, installing additional roof and wall insulation, solar panels, a battery storage system, LED lighting and upgrading the electric supply.
The church’s Property Steward Dr Brian Hull, explained to Rishi that the church was covering half the project costs from its reserves and funding the remainder with grants, donations and government assistance which included a contribution towards the cost of the air source heat pumps.
An initial decarbonisation report carried out by consultants in 2024 was funded by the previous Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund and administered by North Yorkshire Council.
Dr Hull said the church team appreciated Rishi’s support.
He said: “Our members and friends really appreciated the time to meet Rishi, talk to him about the project and share how various groups across the community use this facility. We trust that Rishi's visit will help to raise the profile of the project and so assist us in our fundraising.”
Rishi said he was delighted to hear about the church’s ambitious project and pleased to hear about the previous Government’s assistance being used to help fund it.
“The church and hall play an important role in the heart of the Great Ayton community and I applaud the church team’s initiative to reduce the cost of running the buildings and make them sustainable for the future,” Rishi said.
“The church still has some funds to raise and I will continue to support their efforts,” he added.
