IMAGE CREDIT: Nutley Windmill
Scout troops and sports clubs are among the beneficiaries of this year’s Wealden Community Capital Grants which are putting £80,000 back into Wealden towns and villages.—Wealden Council, 19 July 2017
The money is to improve building facilities used by youth organisations, sports clubs and other community groups.
The Wealden Community Grants also include a contribution from council waste & recycling partner Kier for schemes which meet environmental criteria set by the company.
“Our Community Grants provide match funding for a wide range of community projects, and allow volunteers to commit their own time in the funding calculation,” said Councillor Claire Dowling, Cabinet member for Public Health and Community Safety.
“The commitment of time and effort made by local volunteers is most inspiring. The refurbishment and repair work which many of these grants support is vital in ensuring that community facilities can continue to attract new visitors and members.”
Sean Trotter, business manager, Kier Environmental Services, said: “We’re pleased to support the important work Wealden’s community groups and sports clubs carry out across the area.
“We’re proud of the public services we provide across East Sussex, and are committed to giving back to the communities we operate in. It’s great to be able to help these deserving local projects.”
Among this year’s beneficiaries are the 1st Crowborough Scouts who received £5,330 to improve the scout hut roof, the 1st Broad Oak and Punnetts Town Scout Group who received £2,400 for new scout hut doors, the 1st Forest Row Scouts who received a total of £6,733 for improvements to doors, windows, insulation and a disabled toilet and the 1st Horam Scouts who received a total of £7,400 towards new doors and interior fittings.
Sports clubs who have benefited include the Mayfield Lawn Bowls club which received £3,000 to carry out green improvements, making disabled access easier, Uckfield Rugby Club who received £9,000 for pitch drainage, the Hadlow Down Playing Fields Association who received £2,000 to help improve pitch drainage and provide portable goals, and the Forest Row Sports Ground Association who received £5,054 to upgrade its heating system.
Among the other beneficiaries this year were Nutley Windmill, which was recently featured on a new first class postage stamp by the Royal Mail. The Uckfield & District Preservation Trust received a capital grant of £6,078 to carry out electrical and restoration work at the historic windmill which dates from the mid-1500s.
The Ashdown Forest Visitor Centre received a grant of £5,974 to carry out much-needed insulation and refurbishment to the building, and the Ninfield Local History Group received a £4,000 grant to create a Local History Resource Centre upstairs in the new Ninfield Pavilion.
A full list of the recipients of Wealden’s Community Grants Scheme can be found on the Wealden website.
The next round of Wealden Community Grants, including Small Grants of up to £3,000 for equipment and activity programmes and Capital Grants of up to £10,000 for improvements to community buildings and sports grounds will be open for applications in just over a month’s time.
Wealden’s Partnerships and Funding Support Officer Michelle Gray also gives support to third sector organisations on:
• Sourcing relevant funding
• Assistance with applications
• Sustainable income advice
• Signposting Advice.
Kier provides recycling and waste collection services to Wealden residents and street cleaning as part of the East Sussex joint waste partnership.
