East Suffolk Council
Funding boost for Beccles community groups
East Suffolk councillors have provided over £4,800 to support community organisations in Beccles.
Councillors Sheryl Rumble, Sarah Plummer and Caroline Topping, Leader of East Suffolk Council, have allocated £4,862 to five local groups through their Enabling Communities Budget.
- £461.99 has been given to the Beccles Salvation Army Church and Community Centre in Blyburgate for the installation of a new water heater. More than 100 people use the centre every week, attending clubs and services.
- £1,500 has been allocated to the Salvation Army to convert one of the existing toilet spaces into a shower.
- Beccles Primary Academy has been allocated £1,000 to purchase a washing machine and tumble dryer to provide laundry support for families who are struggling with energy costs.
- £900.36 was allocated to the Waveney Centre to support improvements to their kitchen, enabling the centre to provide community lunches.
- And finally, £1,000 was given to the TGI Friday (Thank God it’s Friday) Youth Hub for the purchase of games equipment, cooking and craft items. Due to the success of the existing Youth Hub, which provides activities for children in Years 6-8, a new group will be established for young people in Years 9 and above. The group will meet regularly, offering activities for young people and giving them a safe space to meet friends and have fun. There will also be an emphasis on self-care and mental wellbeing.
Cllr Sheryl Rumble, East Suffolk councillor for Beccles and Worlingham said: “We are pleased to have been able to provide this funding to all these organisations, who are supporting Beccles residents in a variety of ways. There is a huge amount of hard work which goes on ‘behind the scenes’ every day in our communities and we are proud to be able to support some of this work which makes such a difference to local people.”
East Suffolk Council’s Enabling Communities Budgets support activities delivered by community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations.
Distributed equally amongst each of the Council’s 55 members, each ward councillor has a £7,500 Enabling Community Budget to spend on community projects or to develop new projects which tackle community needs in their area.
Previous projects which have benefitted from Enabling Community Budget funding include play areas, village hall refurbishments and equipment, community events, projects supporting people with disabilities and the purchase of defibrillators.