Community groups receive £15,000 windfall
Volunteer groups across Telford and Wrekin have benefitted from grants totalling nearly £15,000 for projects including creating community gardens and cooking on a budget.
The EnviroGrant scheme, run in conjunction with Telford & Wrekin Council's recycling and waste partner, Veolia, provides money for projects which benefit residents or the environment.
Sixteen projects were awarded a grant at a ceremony held at Hub on the Hill community centre in Sutton Hill, attended by Councillor Carolyn Healy (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council's Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning & Sustainability and Steve Mitchell, Regional Director for Veolia.
Volunteers shared details of projects including a sensory garden, community food growing and bird or bat box installations. Residents across the borough will see a benefit to their green spaces through the grants given to Friends of Hurley Brook, Friends of Hollinswood and Randlay Valley and Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust, among others.
As well as environmental projects, funding for the establishment of a book club at Telford Autism Hub, cooking on a budget sessions at Telford Interfaith Council and adjustable art tables for Severn Hospice, has also been awarded.
Councillor Carolyn Healy (Lab), Telford & Wrekin Council's Cabinet Member for Neighbourhoods, Planning & Sustainability, said:
“It was a delight to attend the EnviroGrant awards ceremony and hear about the amazing work being done by incredible volunteers across our communities.
“To be able to support their work with this funding is brilliant and it’s all thanks to the partnership we have with our recycling and waste contractor, Veolia.
“I look forward to seeing how these projects come to fruition and how they will help make our borough a greener place for all our residents to enjoy.”
Steve Mitchell, Regional Director for Veolia, said:
“We are delighted to be providing grants for some great projects through Envirogrant this year. Empowering local people to support nature and enhance our communities aligns with Veolia’s purpose of ecological transformation and helps to create a more sustainable future for everyone.
"Small grants go a long way in the right hands, and we’ve heard from groups that have shown us how dedicated they are to making a difference.”
Veolia has now given nearly £150,000 to groups through EnviroGrant since 2014.
Full list of groups awarded funding from this round:
● Friends of Hurley Brook, to install bird and bat boxes
● Telford and Wrekin CVS, to set up a book club for Telford Autism Hub
● The Clifton Community Arts Centre Ltd, for film screenings for local schools
● Telford African & Afro-Caribbean Resource Centre (TAARC), for a community garden
● Hollinswood and Randlay Parish Council, to install recycling bins
● Telford and Wrekin Interfaith Council, for cooking on a budget sessions
● Hartshorne Court Social Fund, for a Mindful Wild Walk project
● Friends of Hollinswood & Randlay Valley, to improve access to the Randlay Valley
● Belmont Community Hall, for the Friday Senior Citizens Club
● Ironbridge Gorge Museum Trust Limited, for a sensory garden
● Pneuma Affinity CIC, for a community art project using reclaimed materials
● Sutton Hill Allotment Association, to develop a space for community events
● St Georges and Priorslee Parish Council, to create a community garden
● Severn Hospice, to buy adjustable tables for art projects
● Edgmond Parish Council, to enhance the play area
● Dawley Town Hall, for a seed to fork community project