South West Big Briefing
Funding programmes open to your constituents
You can use our Funding Finder to search for funding programmes that are available for your constituents, while our grants search will allow you to find projects that have been funded in your constituency.
BIG Lottery funding in the South West
The Big Lottery Fund has awarded over £21 million to projects across the South West between January 2011 and December 2011, benefitting 786 projects across the region to the value of £21,188,429. 649 grants totaling over £4 million were made under our small grants programme Awards for All and 52 grants totalling over £12 million were made through our flagship programme Reaching Communities.
Big in the South West
BIG’s South West regional team is proud to represent BIG at a regional and local level keeping external partners informed of BIG’s work, supporting local grant holders and making sure BIG’s funding is accessible by delivering outreach events and support to local funding advisors.
The team also plays an important role in BIG’s grant making, providing contextual information to our committees to enable them to make informed decisions about which grants to award in the region.
North Prospect Garage Project
The North Prospect Garage Project, in Plymouth, has been awarded £233,460 under the Reaching Communities programme to provide educational provision for young people that have been excluded from school and further education.
The project, started initially by local residents to combat car crime in the area, provides life and key skills for those identified as being most at risk of offending behaviour attracting them via the mechanical training and social development opportunities. They provide courses that offer accredited training and activities that assist in social and character building development, along with anti-crime advice, and allow the individual to progress to a level where they can enter further education, apprenticeships and employment.
The project has also made a huge difference to the local community as well, with the local residents feeling less intimidated than before because the young people now have something in the area they can take ownership of, something they respect and want to look after.
Project manager Jo Hawcroft said, “Funding made a huge difference to us - it meant we could take these groups of young people that had no where else to go, but that wanted to do something, and enabled us to deliver something specifically for them. We believe everybody has the ability to learn and it’s the environment you put them in that makes the difference, and the funding has allowed us to offer that different type of learning environment.”
Ben said “I was referred to the project by Devon Regeneration Company and the police. I was 14yrs at the time. I was basically doing things I shouldn’t have been doing. If I hadn’t come here I would have got into a lot more trouble, it got me doing something and I actually found a career, something I want to do.”
Forches Youth Association
Not all young people are anti-social! A Lottery backed community project in a deprived Barnstaple estate is proving just that. The Forches Community Association which runs the Future of Forches project has used the award to help make the estate a better place to live by engaging people of all ages in various activities to improve health, well-being, educational attainment, and work skills. The impact of the award has led to a 40 per cent reduction in crime in the area.
The group were awarded £310,000 in 2008 under the Reaching Communities programme.
The project is run with the help of North Devon Homes the area’s largest social housing provider. A large part of the project was establishing a youth club in the area to get young people off the streets and taking part in positive activities.
Andie Scilly, Lead Youth Worker at Forches Community Association, explains ‘The Lottery funding has had a phenomenal affect. It has made so many things possible that this community wouldn’t have thought possible two years ago.
‘The young people here were notoriously difficult to engage with but this project has really taken off. Crime has been reduced, vandalism at the school has reduced and we are doing inter-generational work so older people are not so scared to go out anymore and young people feel listened to.
“We hold a youth club two nights a week at the community centre, but it is run by the young people themselves. We are here to facilitate them to do that. They decide what they want to do, what kinds of activities and trips. We now have 117 young people registered with us from age nine through to 17. The project has been more successful than we ever thought possible and I think it is largely down to the fact we listen to the young people and let them make the decisions.”
‘For instance, the young people cooked Christmas dinner for the over 50s! Five of the estate’s younger residents worked in the kitchen from 9.00am to cook up the feast they later shared with older residents on the Forches estate. The idea behind the lunch is to help young people and older members of the community to engage with each other, building stronger relationships, and increasing respect and understanding.’
PC Andy Wills, neighbourhood beat manager for Forches said there had been a measurable reduction in crime and anti-social behaviour in Forches over the past few years since the project has been running. Such a reduction can only lead to an improved environment and quality of life for the community. These type of results could not of been achieved without the team work of various agencies and the community. ‘
In addition, the project has also been recognised by a national newspaper for its work with young people. They were runners-up in The Guardian Public Services Awards in the Service Delivery: Children and Young People category in 2010.
How can we help you?
The regional team can arrange bespoke events for you and your constituents, from funding advice surgeries to constituency tours of lottery funded projects.
Also, every month we email all South West MPs with the details of awards that have been made in their constituencies.
To arrange a constituency tour or to find out how we can help support your constituents please contact us.
Llinell Gynghori Fawr 028 9055 1455
