Barnsley chippie owner Craig Butcher has used a low carbon grant to revolutionise the way he prepares one of the nation’s favourite dishes.
He’s just finished the Net Zero Barnsley programme for his Two Gates Fisheries shop, delivered by The Business Village, in partnership with Barnsley Council.
That’s meant a review every aspect of the way he serves fish and chips to save energy, minimise waste and reduce food miles, and used his Low Carbon Grant of £12,499 to invest in a new £56,000 state-of-the-art electric frying range.
Craig, who runs the fisheries with partner Sarah Thompson, said: “Joining Net Zero Barnsley has really helped me look at my business differently and develop it in ways that are good for the planet and for our bottom-line.
“We want to invest in our future and the Low Carbon Grant is a great help. The new range is a huge initial outlay for us but if you’re buying the Ferrari of all chip shop ranges it’s going to be expensive.
“This range is engineered to be the quickest, safest and best insulated ever; and once it’s fired up the heat retention is phenomenal. When you need your range on eight hours a day, six days a week that’s absolutely core to the business.
Energy consumption analysis shows the new range should reduce Craig’s energy bills by £3,537 a year and reduce carbon emissions by 160.8 tonnes of CO2 during its 20-year life.
Net Zero Barnsley business development manager Kevin Steel said: “Two Gates Fisheries has embraced all the opportunities presented by the government’s legal requirement for UK businesses to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050 – and Barnsley Council’s earlier target of 2045.
“Craig must be running one of the most forward-thinking fish and chip shops in the country and we hope his example will give others food for thought.”
