A TOWN centre legal firm has gained grant funding to support installation of modern energy-saving lighting in its historic 200-year-old premises.

Solicitors Ridley and Hall are based in a property in Church Street dating back to the 18th century.

The building was previously home to the headmaster of Barnsley Grammar School which, until the early 1900s, was located next-door in what is now the Cooper Gallery.

The stone-built, four-storey office premises has now been fitted with 65 LED light fittings and a range of smart motion sensors, replacing an ad hoc collection of fluorescent lighting of varying age and quality.

This comprehensive upgrade is set to reduce the firm’s annual electricity consumption by 4,000 kWh and carbon emissions by 0.86 tonne. It should slash more than £1,400 a year off energy bills.

Ridley and Hall gained a low carbon grant to cover more than 40 per cent of the £23,000 cost of the improvement project.

This was awarded through Barnsley Council’s Net Zero Barnsley programme, delivered by The Business Village and supported by the government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) administered via South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA).

Ridley and Hall’s business development director, Adam Fletcher, said: “Probably the most important thing the Net Zero Barnsley team did for us was dispel the myth that there was very little we could do to improve energy efficiency in our historic building.

“We’d previously assumed that modern energy saving solutions were not an option for us.

“They challenged that view and helped us think about a robust and cost-effective lighting refit scheme, sympathetic to the age and style of property.

“Thanks to their support, we now have lighter, brighter and cleaner office spaces for our staff to work in and we’re reducing energy bills and carbon emissions significantly.”