By George Palmer-Soady
A Nottingham city farm has hot water and heating for the first time in six months after a volunteer group supplied and fitted a new boiler for free.
Stonebridge City Farm, in St Ann’s, had to decommission its old boiler in May, after the unit finally broke down after 46 years of use.
The free-to-enter farm is home to cows, goats, pigs and tortoise among other exotic animals. It operates as a charity running on donations and providing training and education for the community.
The breakdown of the boiler left it without working radiators and hot water, which staff say made operating the whole farm harder.
It impacted the on-site café and some animals, who rely on hot water in icier conditions.
But Warriors of Warmth, a voluntary group of plumbers and engineers providing free heating to charities, rallied to support the farm after hearing about the long-standing problem.
The group visited the site on Friday (November 29) and gifted the new boiler.
Jon Wragg, Operations Manager at Stonebridge City Farm, said: “It’s just going to be amazing.
“We’re all delighted because we’ll have a warm office and the café will be more welcoming to visitors.
“We won’t have to worry about the ice in the bathtubs where the animals drink. It’s going to help all of us.”
Work to replace the boiler finished on Saturday (November 30). Warriors of Warmth provides free plumbing work to charities in need across the UK through a network of like-minded tradespeople.
Andy Cam, a volunteer at Warriors of Warmth, said: “All we’re doing is giving our time up to do this nice work.
“There’s about 25 of us and we all show up on a Saturday, and we fit the boilers and it’s all free.
“This is a worthy cause and we’ve got a good little community going. It’s been really nice to see all of the children having a lot of fun.
“It’s good to give a little something back to these volunteers who give their time up every week. They are doing it day-in, day-out for the community.”
The farm on Stonebridge Road in St Ann’s is open seven days a week from 10am until 4.15 pm.
