GROUNDWORK – CHANGING PLACES, CHANGING LIVES
COMMUNITY SPACES
Website link is http://www.community-spaces.org.uk
Advice Line 0845 3 671 671
What it is
Community Spaces is a £50 million open grants programme funded through the Big Lottery Fund’s Changing Spaces initiative. The programme is managed by Groundwork UK. Community Spaces empowers community groups in England to improve public spaces in their neighbourhood, with help and support from a network of trained facilitators.
How much is available
Grants of £10,000-£49,999 are available on a rolling basis until January 2011 and funding of 100% of eligible costs can be funded.
Community Spaces is a majority capital-funding programme – ensuring that money is spent on making physical and lasting improvements to people’s neighbourhoods.
Who can apply
Community Spaces will provide funding for community groups across England that hope to create and improve their local environment.
To be eligible to apply for funding groups must meet the following criteria: Applications must be from community groups – defined as ‘people living in one particular area or group of people focused on a neighbourhood who are considered as a unit because of their common interests, background, nationality or other circumstances’.
There is a simple eligibility test on the webiste, but note the majority of members should be voluntarily involved an live within 2 miles of the site.
A network of trained facilitators will help successful applicants to develop their projects at stage 2.
Outcomes
Outcomes are the changes that happen as a direct result of the project. These changes could make a difference to the environment, to the community or to the people who benefit from the project.
The Community Spaces programme outcomes are:
· A better local environment
· An increase in access to quality local spaces
· An increase in people actively involved in a practical environmental project
· An improvement in partnership between support organisations, communities and authorities.
Projects must be within a 2 mile radius of a residential area and projects must be open to the public ‘most of the time’. The applicant must have freehold or a lease for the land.
Examples of projects (list is not exhaustive):
Community gardens and parks; informal sports areas and multi-use games areas; nature reserves; squares and village greens; creation or improvements to churchyard gardens; ponds and projects which improve the local community’s access to green space.
