​​Community groups in Bury West latest to win Pitch funding

Nine community groups in Bury West have won funding for their projects in the latest Pitch event.

They are the latest organisations to receive up to £1,000 each from council coffers for schemes to improve the health and wellbeing of their neighbourhoods.

The Bury West event was held at Woodbank Cricket Club, where groups made their ‘pitch’ to local residents who then voted for their favourite schemes.

The successful groups and their projects are:

Woodbank Cricket Club: Junior Academy. Equipment/coaching aimed at young beginners (6-21) to our junior members academy programme aimed at youngsters and community partners. Developing skills programme, allowing youngsters more involvement in sport, in a safe and secure environment. We will partner with local primary and secondary schools as well as the community.

Fusilier Court Residents Association: Community Fundraisers. To hold a Christmas party for 20+ juniors from Woodhill Special Primary School who sing and sign for the residents. Plus Christmas party for adults in the community including entertainment and dancing. The group also require bulbs and perennials for the spring garden display.

St Stephen’s School/Church: Maintenance/Entrance and Porch. Improve entrance for community user groups including update to roof, guttering, handrails, improved barrier matting and levelling floor to allow better access for all.

St Stephen’s School/Church: Community Pantomime. Hire/purchase sound system for traditional pantomime in Bury West community where both performers and backstage personnel come from local cubs, scouts/brownies/pupils and parents of local school.

SpeakEasy: Communication Ramps. Helping people with aphasia to develop skills so they can be more engaged with their communities, carers will benefit from a decreased burden, and support our local volunteers develop skills that can be transferred to helping others.

Bloco Ashê Bury Community Samba Group. Celebrating 10^th anniversary. Deliver Samba workshop and activities, providing instant fulfilment, offering gentle encouragement, lots of fun and the chance to build skills, knowledge and friendships.

Making Space:Piece of Mind Cafe. Cafe for people in the local community who are living with dementia and for their carers. Dementia cafes provide a safe, welcoming and non-judgemental environment; somewhere to get peer support and meet people on a similar journey.

Borough of Bury Veterans. Assistance to veterans and their dependants by providing a social and support network unifying all three services in the borough. Provide social environment including visits, events and trips for veterans and likeminded people to further a sense of ‘belonging’ within both the veteran and wider community as a whole.

Woodbank Primary School PTA: School Library Bus. To provide the school with an outside double decker library bus (bus donated by Rosso bus company and partial works carried out by themselves). Funding will go towards providing the bus with electricity, making a structure to support the bus in its location and furnishing and decorating the bus. This will also free up internal space within the school much needed due to increasing numbers of pupils attending.

Councillor Rishi Shori, leader of Bury Council, said: “I congratulate all the winners, whose hard work and dedication does so much to improve daily life for people in the neighbourhood. Because the funding is decided by a public vote, it means that all these projects will have the full support of local residents who will benefit from them.”

You can follow the progress of each project via their dedicated project page at www.theburydirectory.co.uk/thepitch.

Community groups can keep up to date on further Community Fund opportunities via www.theburydirectory.co.uk/funding.

ENDS

Press release issued: 23 November 2017.