Coalfields Regeneration Trust Grant Awards Celebration

Representatives from 30 community and voluntary groups that have benefited from a total of £100,000 Bridging the Gap funding over the past year were invited to a Grant Awards Celebration at Dover District Council offices on Wednesday 23 March.

The Community Development Team at Dover District Council organised this celebration for the voluntary and community groups who had received funding from the Bridging the Gap small grants programme. This is a Coalfields Regeneration Trust funding initiative administered in partnership with DDC working with the local community.

Funding has been given for a wide variety of different projects for people in the former coalfields community over the year, ranging from cultural and educational initiatives to sports, refurbishment and other projects to help benefit community life.

The event at Dover District Council's offices in Whitfield followed the three year Bridging the Gap funding programme, which has seen £300,000 being awarded to a total of 68 community groups within the district.

Peter McNestry, Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Coalfields Regeneration Trust attended the evening and announced a further £30 million of funding from the Department for Communities and Local Government over the next two years. This will enable the Trust to continue supporting the social and economic regeneration of the English Coalfields. £100,000 of this fund has been allocated to be awarded to community groups in former coalfield areas of Dover District, allowing the continuation of the Bridging the Gap funding programme for a further year.

For more information, contact Carol Davies in the Community and Leisure Team on 01304 872081.