- Area:
- South West England
- Programme:
- Community Buildings
- Release date:
- 30 3 2009
Residents of Coniston, Patchway, have reason to celebrate despite the economic downturn following news that the Big Lottery Fund (BIG) has awarded thousands of pounds to complete the development of their community centre.
Patchway Town Council has been awarded the grant of more than £395,000 from BIG’s Community Buildings programme to complete phase two the centre, which so far consists of a well-used day nursery and two community rooms.
Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund’s Head of Region for the South West, said: “We are very pleased to be able to support his project. At a time when many community and voluntary groups are feeling the pinch, this money will go a long way to supporting the Patchway community, ensuring that they have a central facility where they can meet up and access a range of activities and support services.”
The money will be used to add a community café and kitchen to the centre’s ground floor, offering low-cost food and a place for residents to meet. On the upper floor, two new large multi-function rooms will provide an area for local groups and clubs to meet and for local people to hold parties and events.
The renovations will also enable the centre to offer college and community learning courses as well as sessions with specialist advice agencies offering help in areas such as debt management.
It is hoped that the new phase of the building will open in September next year.
Lucy Hamid, Town Clerk at Patchway Town Council, said: "This funding will make a real difference to the community of Coniston in Patchway - a priority neighbourhood within South Gloucestershire.
“The centre will be a real hub for people living within the Coniston area and provide lots of new opportunities for people of all ages. The advice services that will be available will be particularly useful to local people during this difficult financial time. We are thrilled that the Big Lottery Fund has supported the building.“
Also in the South West today, BIG has awarded £430,000 to a project to rebuild Wanstrow Village Hall, in Shepton Mallet, Somerset.
Further Information
Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888
Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Notes to Editors
- Community Buildings is dedicated to investing in buildings that give communities a chance to improve their quality of life and meet local needs, by offering a range of activities and services open to a broad range of people.
- Up to £50 million is being distributed across England over three years with grants of £50,000 to £500,000 available.
- The programme opened for applications in June 2006. 200 applicants were invited to submit stage 2 applications and development funding was awarded to some projects.
- The programme is now closed for applications
- The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
- BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £22 billion has now been raised and more than 300,500 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
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