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26 March 2004

Community groups in Bexley awarded almost £300,000 in latest set of Community Fund grants


Two community groups based in Bexley have been awarded grants totalling £284,735 in the latest set of announcements from Community Fund, one on the National Lottery distributors. The awards will increase the capacity of the voluntary sector by providing key services to vulnerable and isolated people in the community.

Over the past year, the rate of Bexley groups applying to Community Fund for a grant, and the subsequent success rate, has been low. These awards will, however, increase the success rate of applications to 37%, above the average for London.

Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme will use the £123,937 grant to provide an accessible transport solution to those most in need in the borough. They will work with disabled people, older people and youth groups to help reduce the social and geographical isolation they experience giving them the chance to become more involved in community life. There is no similar scheme in the area and the organisation undertook substantial research to determine the need for the project.

Bexley Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) has been instrumental in setting up the Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme, which will be running the project, and getting the application to the point of being funded.

Janet Smith, Chief Executive at BVSC said,

"We are over the moon that Bexley
Accessible Transport Scheme has received a grant from Community Fund. The
Scheme will benefit everyone in Bexley, especially those living in isolated areas with few public transport links and public facilities. There is a huge demand for this scheme and we already have lots of groups wanting to use it. Bexley has been desperate for a service like this for a long time and we are very excited about finally being able to get it off the ground."

Dennis Roberts, Chair of Bexley Accessible Transport Scheme, acknowledged the support of BVSC,

"We would like to thank Bexley Voluntary Service Council for their tireless commitment and support in helping to plan and develop this project. We are very excited that we can now take this project forward and work with the residents of Bexley to ensure its success."

People with learning disabilities will benefit from the grant awarded to Bexley and Bromley Citizen Advocacy. They will provide independent advocacy and services that address the needs of older people, parents, pregnant women and those with moderate learning disabilities who have been excluded from mainstream services aimed at people with more severe needs. The work will help give people with learning disabilities a voice in the borough that will help reduce the isolation they experience in the community.

Debbie Pippard, London Regional Manager at Community Fund, said,

“We are very pleased to be making these awards to support the work of two fantastic groups. We hope that this will encourage other voluntary and community groups in Bexley to think about applying for funding. We recommend that those interested visit our website or contact us to find what we can fund, our priorities for London and how to submit an application. There is a lot of competition for funding but the more research and planning applicants do the more likely they are to be successful.”

Ends –

Notes to Editors:

Community Fund gives out money raised by the National Lottery to charities, voluntary and community groups. Out of every £1 spent on the National Lottery the Community Fund gets 4.7 pence.

Since 1995 Community Fund has awarded over 60,000 grants worth more than £2.7 billion to UK charities and voluntary groups.

The legal name of the Community Fund remains the National Lottery Charities Board. The National Lottery Charities Board was set up in 1994 and changed its operation name to Community Fund – Lottery money making a difference in April 2001.

Next year the Community Fund is to merge with the New Opportunities Fund in advance of creating a new National Lottery distributor that will administer 50 per cent of all good cause funding. The merger will not affect current programmes, beneficiaries or applications. Further details on the new lottery distributor are expected to be available in Spring 2004.

The New Opportunities Fund distributes National Lottery money to health, education and environment projects across the UK. We intend to support sustainable projects that will improve the quality of life of people throughout the UK, address the needs of those who are most disadvantaged in society, encourage community participation and complement relevant local and national strategies and programmes. (Funding for programmes is divided between England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales on the basis of population weighted to reflect levels of deprivation).


Contact - Jemma Ashman - 020 7587 6653 (work), 07808 473476 (mobile) or [email protected]

small green arrow Click here to download summary of March awards.