Town Council helps out Fylde BC

11.50.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 22nd Sep 2008

St Anne's Town Council has given £15,000 to the Ashton Gardens Regeneration Scheme. Funding, organised by St Anne's Town Council and given to Fylde Borough Council, will finance an energy efficiency scheme which will be a feature of the newly restored Ashton Institute as part of the regeneration of Ashton Gardens.

The iconic Ashton Institute before demolition

The £15,000 grant will pay for a ground source heat pump to heat Ashton Institute once it has been rebuilt. Pipes will be sunk into the ground and use heat, taken from the earth, to provide warmth for the Institute instead of electric heaters or expensive radiators being used to heat the building.

The rebuilding of the Ashton Institute is part of the regeneration of the Ashton Gardens and will see the building, currently in storage, restored to its original position in the park following its original design. Although some modern additions such as double glazing, and insulation will be required this new heating system will be added in the interests of energy efficiency.

This sustainable, energy efficient system is being paid for through the grant of £15,000 from the Lancashire County Council fund, which was only accessible through the Town Council who were forward-looking enough to see the benefits of this for local residents. Having applied for the grant then kindly donated the cash to Fylde Borough Council to carry out the unique works. The holes for the network of pipes to tap into heat below the ground will be drilled shortly after the work on rebuilding the once iconic Ashton Institute has started. Naturally occurring heat from 70 metres below ground will feed into a series of under floor pipes circulating hot water heated by the constant temperature underground.

The sustainable energy strategy for the Institute has been devised after consultation with the Fylde Low Waste and Energy (FLoWE) team who also helped the Town Council access the funding.

Fylde's Tory leadership have levelled criticism at St Anne's Town Council but this donation of funds is yet another example of how the Town Council is showing its support for developments in the town itself. Within the last 6 months the Town Council has purchased bikes for the local police and Community Support Officers for use in all the town's wards. This is in addition to grants totalling several hundred pounds which have been offered to several local organisations.