Rachel Yule, our development officer for the North East area, recently attended the opening ceremony for Murtle Market’s retrofit community hub and this is her update from the event.
Murtle Market is a sustainable social enterprise charity founded by Camphill School Aberdeen. The school aims to care for and educate young people with learning disabilities and complex additional support needs. On Friday 22 November 2024, Murtle Market hosted an opening ceremony at their newly retrofitted community hub in Bieldside, Aberdeen. The Acting Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy, Gillian Martin MSP, attended the event to officially open the building. David Cameron, the Lord Provost of Aberdeen, also attended the event. The hub opened to the public on Saturday 23 November 2024.
The opening of the hub will provide opportunities and skills development for the young adults attending Camphill School Aberdeen. Murtle Market offers homemade bakes, coffees and crafts which the young people make in their workshops. The shop also offers a refillery where you can bring your own containers to fill with organic and locally sourced goods. All this shows the charity strives to be as environmentally friendly as possible.
My colleague Mhairi MacSween, development officer for the Highland area, was the project lead but I attended the event as I live in the local area. I met with Rob Clunas and Alex Busch, who both work for Camphill School Aberdeen and liaised with Mhairi throughout the project. Having grown up in the local area, it’s fantastic to see how funding from the Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) is having such a positive impact so close to home while contributing to Scotland’s net zero targets.
The Let’s Do Net Zero Community Buildings Fund supported Murtle Market with £31,462 grant funding, which covered 80% of the total cost, to install an 8kW air source heat pump, loft and underfloor insulation and LED lighting. At the event I had the chance to speak with the architect. He explained that they opted for retrofitting to retain the former building while reducing carbon emissions, and to create a warm and inviting space for the local community. During the week leading up to the opening day, Aberdeen had frosty temperatures and snow and, despite this, the building felt very warm thanks to the air source heat pump and underfloor heating.
If you would like to learn more about this project, you can read our Murtle Market community hub case study. You can also contact your local development officer if you would like to discuss your project ideas.