Community groups will close without energy bill help, Liz Truss warned

Members of a running group meeting at Stretford Public Hall. The community-owned, multi-purpose building - run by Friends of Stretford Public Hall, which has owned the building since a community asset transfer in 2015. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Community organisations in draughty old civic buildings have said they will have to close or reduce services unless the new prime minister, Liz Truss, includes them in Thursday’s expected energy bills bailout.

Charities and community trusts, many occupying leaky Victorian, Georgian and 20th-century structures, are facing some of the sharpest rises in utility bills. More than a third fear they will have to close or significantly reduce their services in the next six months, a survey has revealed.