- Area:
- Scotland
- Programme:
- Community Spaces Scotland
- Release date:
- 19 3 2013
Grassroots community groups across Scotland are celebrating today (19 MAR) as they share almost £5 million in grants from the National Lottery. The funding, from Big Lottery Fund’s Community Spaces Scotland scheme, allows local people to get together and shape their neighbourhood.
Moray, North Lanarkshire, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Borders, Dundee, Stirling, West Lothian, Clackmannanshire, Fife, Highlands, Western Isles, Stirling, East Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, West Dunbartonshire, Argyll & Bute, and Dumfries & Galloway share a funding total of £4,860,242. (See link at end of release for full list.)
The Community Spaces Scotland scheme from the Big Lottery Fund helps rejuvenate local areas across the country. From developing allotments, parks and community gardens through to improving village halls and community centres, the fund will improve local spaces and places, providing somewhere better for people to come together to be healthier, happier and more active.
Big Lottery Fund Scotland Chair, Maureen McGinn, said: "These 31 projects show a broad range of ideas and innovation and I’m delighted to be announcing this funding today. Community Spaces Scotland offers people the chance to get together, have a voice and become actively involved in the future of their community. We want this investment to help create ties, bringing local people together, while improving the community spaces which matter to them.”
For a number of areas the simple refurbishment of a village hall means that those communities will have a more welcoming space that can be used for a greater range of activities. For others the increasingly popular urban community growing space provides access to a sustainable environment offering gardening opportunities and the potential to grow food produce.
Revitalised or newly developed skate parks, multi-use games areas, adventure playgrounds and gardens will give their communities a safe place to meet, play, socialise and exercise. Creating a network of cycle and footpaths will help keep neighbourhoods connected, like Saline in Fife. They’ll use their £90,000 grant to construct a trail that will ultimately link four communities with paths that can be used for access and recreational purposes such as walking, cycling, horse riding and people with mobility vehicles.
David Chisholm, Vice Chair of Saline Environmental Group, said: “The Big Lottery Fund Scotland contribution means a start can be made on a path that will meet our community priorities of facilitating access to services in Oakley and allowing people of all abilities to get to attractive countryside. Importantly, the award acknowledges the value of community consultation and will give other groups the confidence to take forward their own projects."
Some projects not only benefit local residents with improved facilities but provide training opportunities for young people. Faifley’s Watchmeal Crescent Environmental Improvements project will take their £249,263 grant and regenerate the area with trainees carrying out hard and soft landscaping works as part of a 16 week employability and training programme.
Community Spaces Scotland supports communities to become more involved in their local environment, improving and making better use of spaces and places, and getting healthier and being more active. To find out if a community near you has been awarded funding please visit our website.
A full list of Community Spaces grants in your area
Frances Chisholm, Press Team Scotland: 0141 242 1458
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 7110 Text phone: 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
• The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out 40% of 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 its inception in 2004 BIG has awarded close to £6bn.
• 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 £29 billion has now been raised and more than 383,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.
• The Scotland Committee has been making Big Lottery Fund decisions on Scottish projects since March 2007. As well as taking devolved decisions on Lottery spending, the Committee, led by Chair, Maureen McGinn, has and will continue to play a strategic role in the future direction of BIG in Scotland.
• The Big Lottery Fund is investing in Scotland’s communities through its Investing in Communities portfolio, as well as the small grants schemes Awards for All, Investing in Ideas, Communities and Families and 2014 Communities.
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