“West is best” for People and Places in Wales

Area:

Wales

Programme:

People and Places

Release date:

2 5 2008

A total of £3,195,150 has been awarded to sixteen projects throughout Wales which all aim to bring people together to make communities stronger and to improve rural and urban environments. A total of over £1.7 million, more than half the money, has been awarded to seven projects that benefit communities in South West Wales.

Thanks to the £220,808 they received, the Court Henry Reading Room group will refurbish, update and extend the dilapidated Reading Room in Court Henry near Dryslwyn, Carmarthenshire. The Reading Room is a small village hall and as part of the makeover, the historic building will be re-wired and extended, the kitchen will be upgraded, the existing toilets will be extended so that disabled toilets can be added and an energy efficient central heating system will be installed. By improving the facility, the local community will have better access to a range of social activities for all ages. This will help to reduce isolation, improve community relations, improve skills and knowledge and help to build a stronger community.

Projects funded in Neath Port Talbot and Pembrokeshire could be the making of the next Steven Spielberg or Chris Moyles. One of two projects in Neath Port Talbot to benefit from over half a million pounds in funding, the Neath Port Talbot C.I.C. will spend £179,928 on a project to provide training to young people who are interested in broadcasting and media and also provide Neath Port Talbot with its own local radio station. And it’s lights, camera, action for youngsters in Pembrokeshire. With the £367,807 they received, the Tanyard Youth Project Ltd will run the Boatyard Music and Film Studio project.  The project will enable young people aged 10-18 in the Pembroke and Pembroke Dock areas to develop and learn music and film making skills in order to engage young people from the community. The grant will be spent on purchasing the building next door to the Tanyard and the cost to upgrade it to be used as a Music and Film Studio. A full-time Film and Music Technician will also be employed to run the project.

Opportunities to enable people to access employment and training are also prominent features in the awards. An award of over £330,000 will allow the Ystalyfera Health and Well Being Centre - Canolfan Lles a Iechyd Ystalyfera in Neath Port Talbot to provide a variety of services in a recently purchased and renovated community building. The project will enable people to access employment, training, education, and volunteering opportunities. The money will fund the provision of dance, drama and sports activities, nutrition and basic cooking courses, rooms to host services providing employment related skills and information, and a snack bar area.

The education and training theme continues in neighbouring Swansea, thanks to two awards amounting to nearly £370,000. The Local Aid for Children and Community Special Needs group will spend their award of £107,372 on providing training and work experience placements for disengaged young people at two charity shops in the City. A grant of £260,000 to the Ymddiriedolaeth Penllergare - The Penllergare Trust organisation will allow them to run the Community Engagement and Education project. The project will provide opportunities for training, voluntary activities, interpretation, education, increased access to open space and informal recreational activity within the Penllergare Valley Woods, Swansea.

Issues faced by refugee and asylum seeking women in Swansea will also be tackled, thanks to a grant of nearly a quarter of a million pounds (£247,411) awarded to Oxfam. This is part of a project which will be delivered in Cardiff, Newport and Swansea. The project will work in partnership with Refugee Community Organisations in the cities. The provision of drop-ins and activities will reduce social isolation and training provided will help women to become champions for their community and advocates for better services to meet the specific needs of the target beneficiaries.

Commenting on the positive impact the award has had so far, Big Lottery Fund Wales Committee Member and Chair of the People and Places Committee, Janet Reed, said: “Programmes like People and Places are making a difference to the lives of so many people in communities across Wales. People and Places delivers on our promise to use Lottery funding to regenerate and revitalise communities, tackle disadvantage head on and leave a lasting legacy. These awards will have a positive impact on the lives of many people in the communities and I’m sure they will continue to do so for years to come.”

For further information about the People and Places programme and how you can apply for funding, please visit www.biglotteryfund.org.uk and use the ‘Wales’ specific search facility.

Contact information

Big Lottery Fund Press Office – Oswyn Hughes: 02920 678 207
Out of hours contact: 07760 171 431
Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102 030
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:

• In Wales, the Big Lottery Fund is rolling out close to £1 million a week in Lottery good cause money, which together with other Lottery distributors means that across Wales most people are within a few miles of a Lottery-funded project.
• The Big Lottery Fund, the largest of the National Lottery good cause distributors, has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since its inception in June 2004. It was 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 £20 billion has now been raised and more than 250,000 grants given out across the arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment.

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