Green energy boost for Church pensioners

When the 36 residents of the Manormead Supported Housing complex in Hindhead, Surrey move into their new homes later this year, they will find they are doing their bit to save the planet. The Church of England Pensions Board made a commitment when designing this 28-flat scheme to find 10 per cent of its energy generation from renewable resources.

The Board is installing a £44,000 carbon neutral ‘biomass’ boiler system. The energy comes from ‘biofuels’, which in turn come directly from organic matter - so the boiler will be fuelled largely by wood pellets made either from waste wood products (such as woodchip), or from sustainable plantations of trees, such as willow and poplar.

The biomass system has several green credentials: it is ‘carbon neutral’ in that the greenhouse emissions it releases are balanced by the CO2 the plants absorb during growth; biofuels produce 78 per cent less carbon emissions compared to ordinary diesel; and any left overs can be recycled in Manormead’s gardens as compost.

“We are pleased that we have been able to take this opportunity to make some contribution to address concern about the consumption of the earth’s energy resources,” said the Board’s Chief Executive, Shaun Farrell.

Not only does this building support the Church’s Shrinking the Footprint initiative, it is also designed around the needs of the retired clergy and National Church staff who make up most of the residents. The new building will comprise 28 individual flats designed to meet the most stringent standards of disabled access and usability – together with communal lounge, library, dining room and staff accommodation.

Uniquely for the seven centres run by the Pensions Board, Manormead also has an existing purpose-built care home on the same site. This offers temporary or permanent nursing care should any of the Manormead residents come to need it.

A striking new chapel (shown during construction)
sits at the heart of the new development.