A fund which aims to empower communities across Caerphilly County Borough to develop projects to support their local area has been launched and is now open for bids.
The Council’s Community Empowerment Fund is a £328,000 annual funding pot that has been created to enable communities to develop and deliver projects aimed at meeting the needs of their residents.
Selected projects will support communities to build their capacity and better understand local aspirations and priorities, make good use of existing assets, and develop sustainable community projects and complement existing services in an area by providing additional activity.
Cllr Philippa Marsden, leader of Caerphilly Council, said: ‘This brand-new Community Empowerment Fund has come to fruition as a result of feedback from residents in our ‘The Caerphilly Conversation’ resident survey earlier this year. In that survey, 78% of respondents told us they felt it was a positive suggestion to make a community budget available to residents to enable them to do more things for the benefit of their communities.
‘We have listened, and in direct response to this feedback, have set up the Community Empowerment Fund to support community-led initiatives that complement and support those provided through public services.’
Cllr Eluned Stenner, cabinet member with responsibility for transformation, said: ‘A key driver of our ambitious transformation is community engagement, through working to enable our residents to directly shape areas that matter to them. This fund will enable communities to do just that.
‘Our elected members also have an instrumental role in acting as ‘sponsors’ for projects put forward for funding through the Community Empowerment Fund, who will work with and support local community groups to development project ideas that meet identified need on a ward basis. This is a real opportunity for even greater partnership working between the council and our communities, and I am certain that this fund will be welcomed by all concerned.’
The fund will be divided equally by elected Council representatives, with wards with more than one elected member having their allocation multiplied.
More information about the fund can be found here.
In related news, unemployed and low paid Londoners will be given the opportunity to gain free qualifications, after the Mayor of London announced a £11m funding package to support people into jobs and help address skills shortages in sectors key to London’s growth and recovery.
Photo supplied by Caerphilly Council