Pride in Place Impact Fund
Nineteen community groups are to get a much-needed cash boost after successful bids to the council's Pride in Place Impact Fund.
In January, we announced that grants of up to £30,000 would be available to improve community spaces across the borough. The successful bids were:
| Organisation | Project name | Grant award |
|---|---|---|
| Gym Possible | Creating an Accessible, Inclusive Community Gym at Gateshead Leisure Centre | £29,850 |
| Christ Church, Felling (Parochial Church Council), Diocese of Durham | Structural Stabilisation and Foundation Repairs - Christ Church, Felling | £26,742 |
| Edberts House | Thrive in Beacon Lough East (TiBLE): Larkspur House Reprovision | £27,500 |
| Gateshead Older People's Assembly | Outdoor Exercise Area Extension | £24,000 |
| Handcrafted | A Hope-filled space for Deckham | £18,813.80 |
| St Alban's Church, Windy Nook | Refurbishment of Toilets, St Alban's Centre | £30,000 |
| St Chad's Community Project | St Chad's Kitchen and Skills Hub | £29,992.20 |
| Triangular CIO | Gateshead Community Hub Refurbishment | £5,000 |
| Gateshead Clubhouse | Refurbishment of Male/Female Toilets | £27,592 |
| Oasis Aquila Housing | Aquila House Revitalisation Project | £29,128 |
| Tyne Valley Health and Wellbeing CIC | Derwent Park Wellbeing Project | £24,074.96 |
| Whickham Volunteer Library Association | Whickham Library Main Space | £30,000 |
| Dunston Community Centre | Insulate and refurbishment | £8,500 |
| Love Dunston | Fit for Purpose Youth Centre | £18,350 |
| Feeding Families | Feeding Families Innovation and Resilience Hub | £29,850 |
| St Andrews Church Hall | St Andrew's Church Heritage Windows Restoration | £11,036 |
| Emma Hall | Emma Hall Repairs | £28,400 |
| Brighten Ryton Local Environment Group | Restoration of Ferndene Park Toilets | £6,720 |
| The Winlaton Centre CIO | The Winlaton Centre Refurbishment | £28,550 |
| £434,098.96 |
The fund was heavily oversubscribed. We received 69 applications from community organisations, requesting a total of £1.6 million.
To support as many projects as possible, the original funding pot was increased by £100,000 to £434,000.
All applications were assessed by council officers against the published criteria:
- fit with the objectives of the programme which were improvements to community spaces
- engagement with service users
- deliverability of the project
- value for money
The applications were all scored on these criteria by council officers who then forwarded a recommendation to a panel to approve the 19 highest-scoring bids.
The panel, which comprised the Deputy Leader of Gateshead Council and the Cabinet Member for Localities, Communities and Volunteering, agreed with the officers' recommendation.
The panel also asked that all applicant organisations be offered advice and support on alternative funding opportunities, recognising that many of the proposals submitted were strong but could not be funded within the available budget.