Bricks are a charity working with creative, local and social enterprise communities in Bristol and the West of England. They established their community hub at St Anne’s House in 2021. By producing public artwork campaigns and delivering collaborative and creative activities, their aim is to build community resilience, foster connections, grow local talent, inspire creativity, and provide a space to test out new ideas.
"We started this project in response to local ambition for a creative and community hub, to champion what’s best about the area and provide space for people to come together.”
St Anne’s House has many challenges due to its large size, concrete construction and aging energy systems. Any project that they wanted to complete would require large investment and could be disruptive to occupants. However, they have been recently successful in extending their lease on the building, allowing them to plan for the future.
Brick’s motivation to apply for support was simple – to reduce the cost of energy bills, improve the appearance of their public spaces, and reduce their carbon footprint. “I think we have achieved all of this through the project that the West of England Combined Authority helped to fund.”
Bricks were awarded a Green Business Grant of around £14,600 to support the replacement of over 400 fluorescent light fittings with LED panels and occupancy sensors. The £53,900 project is estimated to have resulted in:
Whilst Company Director, Jack Gibbon, did expect to make some financial savings, he was surprised by the size of the reduction. “We've seen savings of over 40%, which is huge.”
Tenants and visitors have also been pleased with the improved quality lighting, which has been particularly beneficial to artists working in hired project spaces and studios. The new lighting controls have improved the visual versatility of hired rooms, particularly the contrast between dark and light spaces, widening scope to test out new ideas. The improved lighting has also made the charity more inclusive, with the building more accessible to visitors and staff with additional requirements, such as visual impairments.
140+ people work in St Anne’s House as tenants. We have had a lot of positive feedback from tenants and regular building users that appreciate the improved quality and controllability of the lighting, especially those working as visual artists.”
Jack has also seen a change in behaviours, with lights being switched off more often when rooms are not being used. Jack thinks that the work has generally led to more sustainable behaviours being seen at St Anne’s House.
Bricks’ Carbon Survey made them aware of other areas where they could cut carbon and cut costs. Their next step is insulation and making sure heat stays in the building, ahead of investigating new heating system options. They also plan to repair some draughty windows and insulate exposed pipes. Outside, they are exploring options for nature recovery and encouraging pollinators in their car park and grounds.
Jack encourages other businesses and charities, who are looking to make carbon-saving improvements to their building and business operations, to consider options that will “pay for themselves in the medium term."
“Get a full survey so that you know what all the different measures are that you could take.”
CO2e savings calculated using BEIS Conversion Factors 2017. Energy costs calculated from BEIS Energy and Emissions Projections 2018, using 2020 retail prices. West of England Green Business Grants 2019-2023 is funded by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund and the West of England Combined Authority’s Recovery Fund.
