Winchester City Council Offers vital support to the Community
Winchester City Council has awarded more than half a million pounds of funding for voluntary local groups which will have a positive impact for residents of all ages across the district. Around £390,000 of the funding has been shared by the councils 5 key clients - Winchester Area Community Action, the Trinity Centre, the Hatfair Management Company and the Citizens Advice Bureaus in Winchester and Bishops Waltham.On top of this another 28 groups are also in line to receive grants ranging from £600 to £12,000 including Town Forum Contributions to help them provide vital services for the wider Winchester community. These include the Carroll Centre, Age UK (Winchester), MENCAP, the Winchester Nightshelter, Winchester Young Carers, and Homestart groups both in the city and Meon Valley. There is also grant aid for the counselling and mediation services provided by Winchester Youth Counselling, the Olive Branch and Relate, and support for 'the arts' where among others Bishops Waltham Festival, The Winchester Festival and the Winchester Rural Youth Theatre will all receive cash injections.
Councillor John Cooper, Deputy Leader of the Council and Winchester's Portfolio Holder for Communities & Safety said, "I am delighted that we are able to channel more than half a million pounds back into the community in this way. By any measure this is a really significant amount of financial help and we work hard to ensure we cover a wide range of needs and interests".
"Most groups we have previously supported have been given a new grant for 2011/12 and we are pleased to add one more to this long list by also giving a boost to Meon Valley Carers “
The Meonstoke, Exton and Corhampton community hall will benefit from a £1800 grant to replace all of the single glazing windows and doors with double glazing to improve the energy efficiency throughout the hall.
Looking forward funds will also be available for one-off community projects such as repairs to village halls. Applications for these grants will shortly be invited. Councillor Cooper added, "Local facilities are the hubs around which social inclusion in small communities revolves. Some buildings are getting on in years and we need to make sure that they are well equipped, have proper disabled access and are as energy efficient as possible for the future. Several groups and interests are going to benefit from these community project grants which will help them meet project costs".
If you require further information please contact Sarah Dack, Commissioning Support Officer on 01962 848 311 or email sdack@winchester.gov.uk