15156/02Heating bills in homes in a village without mains gas are being slashed thanks to a bulk-buying idea thought up by a retired naval officer.

The cost of the central heating oil upon which many homes in Burbage depend has been driven down by the buying power of the village syndicate Burbage Energy Action Management.

The BEAM bulk buying scheme is now being extended to include the villages of Easton Royal and Wootton Rivers.

BEAM benefits not only those with oil-fired central heating but everyone in the village because commission paid by the fuel provider is being spent on village facilities.

The doctors' surgery in Burbage has already gained £500 from BEAM for a machine to diagnose diabetes.

Cdr Rodney Stone, who thought up the bulk buying idea, said that the village is now looking at other possible discounted services, such as electricity, water, insurance and banks.

The idea came to him about four years ago when realised that many of the 700 homes in Burbage relied, like his own, on oil for central heating because the village, like many in Wiltshire, had no mains gas supply.

He had previously worked as facilities manager for a major company in Newbury where his role included setting up energy contracts and he hit on the idea of coming to a bulk buying arrangement for village householders with one of the many companies who deliver heating oil.

A survey of villagers supported the money-saving idea and Cdr Stone consulted 13 companies, of which six said they were not interested.

Eventually negotiations led to a two-year deal being agreed with Devizes-based Total Butler.

Cdr Stone said the scheme was simplicity itself and villagers ordering oil still phone their orders to the supplier.

He said that ,whereas in the past customers would have had to ring around perhaps as many as half a dozen companies for the best price, BEAM has a contract with Total Butler to give villagers the best possible deal.

The scheme has enabled buyers to save as much as 4p per litre when ordering fuel.

With the average home using around 3,000 litres a year the saving works out at about £120 per household.

Currently the scheme has about 140 members with more enrolling every week, said Cdr Stone.

Oil orders between October-December resulted in a commission cheque for £300 arriving at Mr Stone's home last Thursday.

Before the scheme's annual meeting, village charities and organisations are invited to bid for the cash and members are polled on where they want the bonus money to be spent.

Cdr Stone said: "We had £500 to give away at the last annual meeting when it was decided to give it to the doctors' surgery.

"This year, because we have considerably more members, we will have more money to allocate.

"Our members benefit from paying a rock bottom price for their heating oil and the village befits from the commission."

Being a member BEAM is free and the small amount of administration is carried out by a committee of three, made up of Cdr Stone, David Line and Ian Warren.

Similar schemes may follow on from the success of BEAM, said Cdr Stone who said he had been approached by communities elsewhere in the country.

Cdr Stone said: "There are company insurance schemes and we cannot see why there cannot be similar schemes for a village."

In 2001 Cdr Stone won an Earthwatch Millennium Award grant and spent two weeks in the area of Argentina known as Triassic Park because of its dinosaur remains.

He is also on the committee of the Marlborough and District Talking Newspaper for the sight-impaired.