Published on 6th August 2014

Woodland path and pond

Over £45,000 of community pride funding will be shared out between eighteen groups in Cheltenham to improve and enhance their local area.

The council invited community organisations to bid for match funding for projects which would promote sustainability, build community spirit and create a lasting legacy for the local community. Up to £5,000 funding was available to each successful project on a fifty per cent match funding basis.

Some of the projects given a helping hand include:

Charlton Kings Parish Council who will use the funding to renovate the village stocks. The plan is to sympathetically repair damaged parts of the stocks so as to preserve them for future generations.
Friends of Sandford Park have received funding to coordinate new and replacement planting of roses and shrubs in Sandford Park.

Cheltenham in Bloom plans to enhance the gateways into our town. Lansdown road used to be full of assorted narcissi and daffodils blooming with magnificent spring colour on either side of the highway which were admired by residents and many visitors to the town. Over the years, utility companies have needed to dig up the grassed areas, so the bulbs have become tired. Cheltenham in Bloom plans to restore the ‘wow’ factor. 

Friends of Pilley Bridge Nature Reserve will make improvements to the reserve by building a series of paths, bridges and boardwalks to gain access and create an exciting new destination in the wetlands and ponds of Pilley Bridge Nature Reserve.

Albemarle Orchard Garden Group is a new group formed who will use the funding to create a community orchard on an existing unused piece of council land. The intention is to plant a variety of fruit trees in order to help preserve the natural and local heritage along with a variety of wild flora and fauna to help attract wildlife.

The panel comprising councillors, officers and partners evaluated each application and those successful were approved by cabinet in July.

Councillor Steve Jordan, leader for Cheltenham Borough Council, said: “This is the seventh year of the council’s community pride scheme which has allocated just over £320,000 to match-fund over 180 community-based projects that have improved and enhanced the public realm. We are pleased to be able to provide this funding for these projects. They will make a real difference in benefiting the community.”

Richard Gibson, strategy and engagement manager, added: “The panel were impressed with the range of the projects put forward to us. For 2014-15 we wanted the community pride funding to be made available to support neighbourhood-based projects that will build up community pride and enable local groups to be more influential in supporting their communities and improving their neighbourhoods. However, we also want to use the funding to support cultural and economic projects.”

A list of all the projects to receive the community pride funding can be found here.

 

For press enquiries contact: Kelly Carter, communications officer, telephone 01242 264154, email [email protected]

 

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