Successful grants awarded

Project Name
Programming activity

Location
Aldeburgh and surrounding towns & villages

Summary
With the increased traffic on roads in the area impacting communities, the organisation identified the need to expand and diversify the range of events and performances staged at the venue in order to increase opportunities for local residents to come together and access arts and culture.

To do this, they sought funding to increase the contracted hours of their part-time programmer, enabling them to undertake inclusive community engagement and expand and diversify their events line-up to meet the needs and wants of the community. They also identified an opportunity in the construction of Sizewell C, with the incoming workforce being a potentially new audience, engaging with and programming for whom would help generate additional income for the organisation, helping to secure the financial viability of the venue, as well as playing a role in enhancing cohesion in the community between Sizewell C workers and existing residents.

Website
www.aldeburghjubileehall.co.uk

Total Award
£30,000

Grant Period
Over 3 years

Location
Leiston and surrounding areas

Summary
Citizens Advice have had a presence in Leiston and wider East Suffolk for many years, providing advice to local residents on a wide range of issues. Using their knowledge of the existing need locally, they combined this with data from assessments in the Community Impact Report and conversations with their counterparts in Somerset (where Hinkley Point C is being built) to identify an anticipated increase in demand for their advice services throughout the Sizewell C construction period.

In order to meet this increased demand, they wanted to employ a dedicated Training Manager to recruit, train and co-ordinate volunteer advisers to provide advice to local residents each year on housing, employment, debt, benefits, consumer rights and many more topics.

Website
www.caes.org.uk

Total Award
£170,358

Grant Period
Over 3 years

Location
Easton and Letheringham

Summary
The hall is a frequently used community asset located near the Wickham Market Park and Ride site, and the organisation identified how increased traffic and noise in the area would exacerbate the need for a space in the village where residents could meet, socialise and engage in activities which improve wellbeing.

The funding was sought to replace the hall’s old fluorescent lighting system, which had started to fail, with a low-energy LED system – achieving the joint benefits of enabling the hall to continue to be used and enjoyed by the local community, while also reducing the hall’s energy consumption and enabling hire charges for the venue to remain low.

Total Award
£1,896

Grant Period
1 year

Location
Leiston and surrounding areas

Summary
This community angling club was set up in the 1970’s and members know first-hand how an increase in the local population that comes with a Sizewell construction project brings an increased demand for access to the sport and their facilities, enabling them to provide a relaxing and enjoyable past-time to the new arrivals and opportunities to both boost their membership income and enhance community cohesion between the Sizewell workforce and existing local residents, but also putting increased demand on the ecology of the pond.

In order to meet this increased demand, the club sought funding to purchase angling equipment that could be hired or loaned to prospective members and guests, invest in security equipment, and commission an environmental survey of the pond to inform a business case and plan for increasing the capacity of the pond and stabilising its ecosystem.

Website: www.leistontowncouncil.gov.uk/facilities/haylings-pond/

Total Award
£6,864

Grant Period
1 year

Location
Peasenhall

Summary
Located near to the Yoxford Roundabout and Northern Park and Ride sites, the Parish Council identified that concern from residents over increased traffic through the village exacerbated the need for their long-standing plans to create allotments and a play area on land due to be transferred to them from a private developer.

The residents wanted spaces within the village where they could come together, socialise and engage in activities which increased wellbeing. These spaces included community allotments and an outdoor playground for children. The Parish Council plan to expand the playground further, subject to funding, and will engage with residents over the grant period to find out what they want phase 2 to look like.

Website
https://peasenhall.onesuffolk.net/parish-council/

Total Award
£26,000

Grant Period
Over 2 years (from project commencement)

Location
Saxmundham

Summary
As an area identified in the Community Impact Report as being affected by the construction of Sizewell C, the organisation recognised the well-utilised Fromus Centre to be a key community asset in Saxmundham, providing a hub where residents can meet, socialise and engage in a wide range of group activities which promote both physical and mental wellbeing.

Responding to feedback from their users, the organisation sought a grant to fund the replacement of the venue’s old and drafty single-glazed windows with new double-glazed toughened glass, increasing enjoyment of the venue and reducing energy costs

Website
www.fromus.org.uk

Total Award
£12,500

Grant Period
1 year

Location
Pakefield & Leiston

Summary
The Seagull has been working with the Pakefield community since 2009 and used their in-depth knowledge of local issues and strong links with young people and other VCFSE groups in the community to articulate how existing need in the area would be exacerbated by the construction of Sizewell C. In addition, the organisation welcomed the opportunity to expand their services to Leiston, where the Panel agreed there was an unmet need.

The grant was to fund a 2 year multi-stranded project aimed at improving mental health and wellbeing in children and young people, using a mix of story-telling, arts, music and dance. In addition, the organisation planned to use the contribution towards their core costs awarded as part of the grant to resource feasibility/scoping work to inform a subsequent bid for funding to deliver services in Leiston. The organisation anticipated that a 2 year grant would be sufficient for them to demonstrate the impact of their work to other funders, unlocking additional income streams to improve the financial sustainability of the organisation.

Website
www.theseagull.co.uk

Total Award
£64,615

Grant Period
Over 2 years

Location
Aldeburgh and surrounding areas

Summary
The club was founded 50 years ago by workers from Sizewell that relocated to the area who created a sailing club that today prides itself on its accessibility to the community and enjoys strong local support as a result, participating in the annual school sports week and other community events. They identified that current and prospective members could benefit from the wellbeing benefits being on the water can bring to reduce any adverse impacts resulting from disruption related to Sizewell C construction, and the increase in population created an opportunity for the club to increase their income through new memberships from the Sizewell C workforce.

Funding was sought by the club to purchase an electric motor for a boat they owned, enabling the vessel to be used to transport and escort members and guests – increasing the confidence of those taking to the water and further increasing the accessibility of the club to a wider range of people in the community.

Website: www.slaughdensailingclub.co.uk

Total Award
£4,572

Grant Period
1 year

Location
Leiston, Saxmundham and surrounding areas

Summary
With over 20 years supporting young people in and around Leiston, the organisation recognised how they’re well-placed to play a key role in supporting young people living in areas impacted by Sizewell C construction. Drawing on their experiences of the adverse effects of Sizewell B construction in the area, they identified both the potential impacts as well as the need to engage further with young people locally to find out how they were being impacted by Sizewell C construction activity, how existing needs were being exacerbated, whether any new needs were being created, and how best to support the young people over this period of change.

The funding was sought to enable this by working with existing users of their hubs in Leiston and Saxmundham, as well as through ‘detached’ youth workers visiting the surrounding villages and parts of town where young people hang out and engaging with them. The organisation planned to collate data and insights captured over the grant period to inform a strategy for future youth work in these areas over the longer term.

Total Award
£19,036

Grant Period
1 year