A Langwith social enterprise is set to benefit from money-saving, environmentally-friendly facilities thanks to funding from Nottinghamshire County Council.

A new composting toilet at Rhubarb Farm, which aims to annually save about 86,000 litres of water, was officially unveiled thanks to the council’s Local Improvement Scheme ( LIS) as well as funding from Four Winds Energy Co-operative, a community-based on-shore wind turbine cooperative.

Rhubarb Farm offers a range of work placements, training and volunteering opportunities to people with long-term issues, helping them to change their lives for the better.

Composting toilets — which turn waste into compost — are one most environmentally-friendly toilet systems, not only saving on water and power bills, but reducing the need for potentially harmful chemicals.

The LIS funding, worth £16,410, was awarded to the farm towards the new composting toilet as well as range of improvements, including creating new pathways to help make access easier for volunteers and visitors, particularly wheelchair users. This work is due to finish by December.

The funding has also gone towards a new portable building and helping to equip it as a charity shop to help the farm diversify its income streams and improve sustainability.

Coun John Handley, vice-chairman of the Communities and Place Committee, at the council, said: “Rhubarb Farm does so much great work encouraging more people to grow their own fruit and veg, so this fits very well with this organisation’s ethos to find more ways to reduce our carbon footprint.

Jennie Street, managing director of Rhubarb Farm, said: “Everyone who comes to Rhubarb Farm is a volunteer, no matter what their needs or abilities — and volunteers were involved in the design and build of the toilet, which has given them a sense of achievement.

“It even has a green roof to attract bees and we can use the good friable compost around our fruit trees.”