COLUMN: Have a say on community grants fund

by Karen Johnson – South Holland District Council community development officer

Local groups and individuals have been given the opportunity to participate in events such as the successful Spalding Pumpkin Festival and recent Give it a Go! event.

However, there are other ways that they can contribute to our communities by having their say on future policies and decision-making processes.
GrantScape, the national grant-making charity, is hosting a series of open public events for an exciting new community grants fund (the East Coast Community Fund) before its official launch in December.

The fund is being made possible by DONG Energy and relates to their Race Bank Offshore Wind Farm (located off the Lincolnshire and North Norfolk coast) and their Hornsea Offshore Wind Farm (located off the Yorkshire coast).

For the next 20 years, approximately £465,000 will be available from the fund as grants for community and environmental projects within the area of benefit.
Local voluntary groups and organisations are being given the opportunity to provide their views on the proposed criteria before they are finalised.

A map showing the suggested area that the fund will cover is on GrantScape’s website at: http://grantscape.org.uk/fund/eastcoastcommunityfund/
Furthermore, a series of public exhibitions are being held across South Lincolnshire where you can chat to staff and ask questions.

Full details about all the public events and the fund are also on the charity’s website or you can call 01908 247634 to speak to a member of the GrantScape team.

In addition, the four Lincolnshire Clinical Commissioning Groups are consulting on how they spend their healthcare funds in order to get the greatest benefit for patients.
They think the money spent on items that are readily available over the counter might be better spent on treatments, staff, and essential services that patients cannot get in any other way.

Please take the opportunity to feed in your views by clicking on the link where you will be able to read about the proposals and complete a short survey at http://lincolnshireeastccg.nhs.uk/index.php/get-involved/current-surveys-and-consultations

I hope that you will take the opportunity to get involved.