52 community projects to share £1.5m Levelling Up Together grant

Gloucestershire County Council is proud to announce which 52 community projects will receive funding from their £1.5 million Levelling Up Together grant scheme.

The council launched the grant scheme in response to the government’s Levelling Up agenda, which aims to support local areas in need of investment to create opportunities and improve economic growth.

Levelling Up Together grants will support the areas in Gloucestershire that are in the bottom 10% most deprived nationally, helping communities to deliver the initiatives they have said will be most effective for them and their area.

The fund received an overwhelming response, with nearly 130 applications submitted from community groups and organisations across the county. The projects selected cover a diverse range of areas, including health and wellbeing, education and skills, arts and culture, and the environment.

The successful projects include a mental health support service for boys and young men, a project helping children to read, young people’s groups working with diverse communities, helping people to access food, and refurbishments of community spaces including projects to refresh the look of neighbourhoods. The funding will enable these projects to make a real difference to the lives of local people, helping to level up communities across Gloucestershire.

Cllr Mark Hawthorne, leader of Gloucestershire County Council, said: “We are thrilled to be able to support so many fantastic community projects across Gloucestershire through our Levelling Up Together fund. The quality of the applications was incredibly high, and we are confident that the projects we have selected will make a real impact in their communities. We look forward to working with the successful groups and seeing the positive changes they will bring to the people of Gloucestershire.”

One charity which has received grant funding is Forest Voluntary Action Forum (FVAF). Their project Vibrant Cinderford Spaces received £82,500 which will go towards creating a multi-use community hub through the renovation of a Cinderford town-centre building. The hub will host a community pantry and café alongside a wide array of support services and community groups.

Penny Hulbert, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Forest Voluntary Action Forum said: “Receiving this funding will enable us to create a much-needed welcoming, vibrant community space which will have a transformative impact for people living in Cinderford and the wider district.

“We have ambitious plans and will be working closely with local people to create an inspiring and supportive space, offering something positive for every member of the community to experience and feel pride in the place they live.”

The successful projects are outlined below:

District	Areas Covered	Organisation Name	Project Name	Total Grant Awarded
Cheltenham	St. Mark’s	Cheltenham Borough Homes	CBH Wraparound Support Initiative	£85,000
Cheltenham	St. Mark’s	Hesters Way Partnership Limited	Cheltenham Pantry	£30,000
Cheltenham	St. Paul’s	Read With Me CIC	Every child reading well	£3,422
Cheltenham	St. Paul’s	Fresh Hope	School House Cafe, Kitchen rebuild / repurposing	£50,000
Cheltenham	St. Paul’s	Gas Green Baptist Church	Gas Green Youth and Community Centre Levelling Up initiative	£60,000
Cheltenham	St. Paul’s	Vision 21Gloucestershire	Planet Cheltenham ECO-Hub	£25,000
Cheltenham	St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s	Move More	Community-Based Physical Activity Provision	£33,690
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	Forest Voluntary Action Forum (FVAF)	Vibrant Cinderford Spaces	£82,500.00
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	Forest of Dean & Wye Valley Men’s Shed CIC	Forest Community Shed relocation	£25,000
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	1st Cinderford Scouts	Improving Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in local Scouting	£3,257
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	Sportily	Sport, Health, and Wellbeing in Cinderford	£10,000
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	Home-Start North and West Gloucestershire	Home-Start Cinderford	£29,000
Forest of Dean	Cinderford	The Family Wellbeing CIC	Coaching parents towards positive wellbeing	£4,770.50
Gloucester	Podsmead, Tuffley	Read With Me CIC	Every child reading well	£3,422.00
Gloucester	Tuffley	Gloucester Community Building Collective	Community Building	£15,000.00
Gloucester	Podsmead	Friends of Tuffley Park	Tuffley Park – Outdoor Accessibility for All	£75,000.00
Gloucester	Tuffley	Tuffley Rovers AFC/Tuffley Rovers Youth	Youth changing rooms & pavilion redevelopment	£37,500.00
Gloucester	Tuffley	St Barnabas Community Halls	Growing our service to the community 2023	£10,000.00
Gloucester	Tuffley	Court Community Association (Tuffley)	Breakfast Club	£12,000.00
Gloucester	Tuffley	Court Community Association (Tuffley)	Free and sustainable food parcels	£15,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	GL Communities	The Best Life	£50,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Arcexi Ltd	Rebranding Matson	£18,750.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Read With Me CIC	Every child reading well	£3,422.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	TLT Matson cic	The Long Table Matson	£40,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Together in Matson	Fund Forward	£15,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Create Gloucestershire	Culture Matson Community Chest	£10,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Community Roots CIC	Top Two	£5,000.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood	Healthy Eating Matson & Coney Hill	Healthy Eating Matson & Coney Hill	£10,000.00
Gloucester	Moreland	Gloucester Community Building Collective	Community Builder	£21,506.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth, Moreland	Read With Me CIC	Every child reading well	£3,422.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	Brendan’s Bridge	Czech M8s +	£30,000.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	Rainbow Transformations CIC	Barton and Tredworth – The Arts and Cultural Quarter of Gloucester	£50,000.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth, Moreland	Gloucestershire Bangladeshi Association	Gloucestershire Bangladeshi Association	£35,000.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	Kingfisher Church	Community Hub	£40,000.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	The Friendship Café	The Friendship Café	£15,500.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	Islamic Society of Gloucester (ISOG)	Education and Social Welfare Project	£15,700.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth, Moreland	Fair Shares	Fair Shares	£18,500.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	Rising Stars Youth FC	The Glebe – Multi Sports Hub	£45,000.00
Gloucester	Barton & Tredworth	St James and All Saints and Christ Church Gloucester	Building Resilience and Warmth for Sustainable Flourishing	£25,000.00
Gloucester	Kingsholm & Wotton	Roots Coffee and Community	Kingsholm Partnership	£75,000.00
Gloucester	Kingsholm & Wotton	Gloucester Rugby Foundation	Engage	£59,100.00
Gloucester	Kingsholm & Wotton	Read With Me CIC	Every child reading well	£3,422.00
Gloucester	Westgate	Gloucester Feed the Hungry CIC	Gloucester Feed the Hungry Community Space	£10,000.00
Gloucester	Westgate	Kingfisher Treasure Seekers	Improving access for improved wellbeing and health equity	£50,000.00
Gloucester	Westgate	Discover DeCrypt	Old Crypt Schoolroom Cafe	£20,000.00
Gloucester	Westgate	The Wiggly Worm	Food for Mood	£3,229.00
Gloucester	Westgate	Filipino Association of Gloucestershire	Filipino Heritage Day/International Nurses Celebration	£5,000.00
Gloucester	Podsmead, Tuffley, Westgate	Play Gloucestershire	Annual Play Provision	£13,505.00
Gloucester	Matson & Robinswood, Podsmead, Tuffley	Diverse Leap	Diverse Leap Mental Wellbeing Drop-in Centre – Outreach Project	£1,500.00
Across Districts	Barton & Tredworth, Kingsholm & Wotton, Moreland, Podsmead, Tuffley, Westgate, Cinderford	TIC+ (Teens in Crisis)	Boys in Mind – Levelling up access to mental health for boys and young men in Gloucestershire	£56,379.00
Across Districts	Barton & Tredworth, Kingsholm & Wotton, Matson & Robinswood, Moreland, Podsmead, Tuffley, Westgate, Cinderford, St. Mark’s, St. Paul’s	North and West Gloucestershire Citizens Advice	Levelling Up Advice	£89,200.00
Across Districts	Kingsholm & Wotton, Cinderford	Play Gloucestershire	Holiday Play Days	£11,016.00

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