THE Enrolled Freemen of Grimsby have scooped a prestigious national award in recognition of their environmentally friendly regeneration of Freeman Street Market.
They were named gold winners in the building and construction (regeneration) category of the 2014 Green Apple Awards during a ceremony at the House of Commons.
It follows their success in being highly commended in the Lincolnshire Energy Champion Awards in June, where they were recognised as leaders in renewable energy.
Established in 1994, the Green Apple Awards are held to recognise, reward and promote environmental best practice around the world.
Competition for a Green Apple Gold is extremely high and 2014 was no exception, with well-known supermarket chains, industrial giants, councils and multi-million pound utilities all among the contenders.
The award recognises the Freemen's pioneering work in regenerating Freeman Street Market to its high Eco standard.
Since 2008, the Freemen have installed an air to water heat pump, low energy lighting, a pilot rainwater harvesting system and solar panels in a bid to reduce energy costs.
A new recycling system has also been introduced to reduce waste and recycle most of the packaging generated by market trading.
Now the Freemen are in the planning phase of implementing a "communal energy system", in which excess energy generated by the solar panels could be distributed among local partners for the benefit of the Freeman Street and East Marsh area.
This work has been carried out alongside an extensive refurbishment of the market, and the creation of the £1.4 billion Business And Digital Hub, which houses office spaces, workshops, training, and meeting rooms.
Stephen White, chairman of the Enrolled Freemen of Grimsby, said: "We had no idea back in 2008, when we took the conscious decision to try and stem the decline and regenerate the local area by starting with the market building, that we would end up with such an excellent building with a "B" energy rating which has now won two Eco awards and has regained its place as the community hub for the East Marsh.
"The roof mounted solar PV system has already reduced our CO2 output by over 60 tonnes, an amazing figure for three years.
"Against the Government's 20/20 CO2 reduction target, (20 per cent reduction before 2020), we are already saving 15 per cent on the market and are about to double our solar output to generate 150,000kwh which should help us to over achieve the target."
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