West Berkshire Council gives out grants to help community groups 'do more for themselves'

Grants up to a maximum of £12,000 will be available

WEST Berkshire Council is offering community groups money to “help them to do more for themselves” as austerity measures increasingly impact on services.

The Building Community Together (BCT) fund allows local groups to bid for start-up funding for projects and services in their communities.

Grants up to a maximum of £12,000 will be available for both capital and revenue schemes, while there will also be a small grants pot available for projects requiring up to £1,000.

Four grant awards were made when the panel met on March 21.

The Newbury Community Resource Centre received a grant to support young people excluded from school, provide mentoring and skills training and support the emotional mental health of young people aged 13 to 18 years.

The Alfred Palmer Memorial Field received money to develop sporting activities and encourage the greater community use of the field in Mortimer.

Empowering West Berkshire received a grant to help use restorative practices to develop community resilience and establish more volunteers and active community projects.

The final award granted was to All2gether to run a series of inclusive workshops for women to build self esteem and learn new skills.

Eligible projects must be focused around local priority concerns, such as support for community hubs or outreach services, support to the elderly and vulnerable, small-scale community flood prevention efforts, better child protection and family support, and innovative ways to reduce crime and anti-social behaviour.

Projects that increase employment, skills and job opportunities will also be given priority, as will activities for children and young people.

Lynne Doherty, West Berkshire’s executive member for children’s services, said: “In the backdrop of dramatic reductions in council spend, it is important that there are some funds available to support communities, allowing them to do more for themselves, in line with our council plan priorities.

“Fundamentally, we’re starting to change the conversation to find different ways to say ‘yes’ while reducing the pressure on high-cost services.

“Schemes such as BCT enable development of innovative solutions that target early needs and risks.”

Applications for BCT funding can be made via www.findmeagrant.org/wberks/ and more information is available at www.westberks.gov.uk/bctf

The council says the BCT has been created from historic funding from the Local Strategic Partnership and therefore has no direct impact on current financial budgets.