Club aims to hit bills for six with solar panel move

An amateur cricket club that has seen its energy costs treble in three years has installed solar panels on the roof of its clubhouse.

Eaton Socon Cricket Club in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, was awarded £35,335 from the Cambridgeshire County Council to install the system.

It was one of 26 community groups, including village halls, parish councils, schools and voluntary groups, to receive grants of up to £40,000.

Rob Ashwell, the club's chairman, said the solar panels were a "huge step forward" for the club's aims.

"The installation of solar panels works in conjunction with our evolving net zero plans," he said.

The club predicted that two-thirds of its energy needs would be supplied by the solar panels.

It said its energy costs have increased three-fold during the cost-of-living crisis.

The club also tried to cut costs by refurbishing its toilets and showers to save water and replacing halogen bulbs with more efficient LED ones.

Councillor Alex Bulat, the vice-chair of the authority's Communities, Social Mobility and Inclusion Committee, said: "I am delighted that we were able to award Eaton Socon Cricket Club with the funds they needed for their solar panels.

"They've estimated it would take around 170 trees to absorb the equivalent carbon emissions that their new solar panels will save each year."

The money came from the authority's £1m pot earmarked to support local communities to upgrade their buildings and assets.