About this group
The Community Energy Lab
The Community Energy Lab is an innovative pilot project based at the Selby Centre in North London. Its aim is to use waste materials from the centre and turn them into viable insulating materials, which will then be used to retrofit the centre.
This will have many benefits. Reducing waste, creating new jobs, creating materials from local resources for retrofitting urban buildings, reducing transport within the construction industry, and reducing carbon emissions.
The Selby Centre is a social enterprise that houses 34 organisations, its motto of “Many cultures, one community” rings true, and it therefore has great scope for information dissemination to ethnic minorities. The steel frame and concrete building was originally built as a school in 1964, and is typical of many of its time and by retrofitting in this innovative manner we then create a good model for others to follow.
The Community Energy Lab has taken its lead from a philosophy of energy reduction and reuse of materials and transferred it to the task of renovating buildings.
For more information see;
http://selbytrust.co.uk/services/community_environmental_development
A Successful Social Enterprise that can do more
The Selby Trust attracts a critical mass of approximately 1500 people daily from a wide range of historically excluded communities facing fuel poverty to its main Centre, the Selby Centre. Located in White Hart Lane, Haringey, it is an area of high deprivation and yet manages to bring together a rich mix of individuals and organisations, from culturally diverse groups and other historically excluded communities. In this sense, it has a global reach, with over 90 languages and community reach amongst those who struggle to get the best from mainstream service provision.
The Centre is a holistic environment that provides a range of services and activities under one roof delivered by 100+ charities, social enterprises, community groups, sports clubs and faith groups that hire the Selby Centre on a regular basis. These are often led by people drawn from the same communities they seek to serve. This vibrant thriving community enjoys 98% occupancy, helping the Trust to turn over almost £1m and create surpluses annually since 2009/10.
The Selby Trust was set up as a charity in 1992 by local people who recognised the need for a multi-purpose centre led by the community and third sector organisations. It was supported by the late Bernie Grant MP, who had a vision for a place in the community that people could afford and call their own. Selby Trust registered as a Company Limited by guarantee in May 1993 and a charity in May 1994.
Since 1992, it has operated from the Selby Centre in Tottenham, in former school premises, which the Trust manages as a multi-purpose community and social enterprise centre, with a lease from LB Haringey. The site is 150,000 square feet, with offices, meeting rooms, training facilities, sports and events halls and a large car park.
More Grass Roots Social Enterprise
The Trust is itself a grass roots led social enterprise that has supported others to incubate, develop and grow. Most organisations renting space onsite have survived for over 15 years. The Community Energy Lab is one of 3 key environmental social enterprise projects incubating at the Selby Centre along with a Wood Recycling Project, Wood Works Wonders that has successfully begun trading in less than a year and the Global Garden which will provide organic vegetables at affordable prices in working class communities.
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