Thousands given to boost parish projects
A CHILDREN’S play park is one of the first ventures to benefit from the latest round of funding for rural parts of the borough.
New safety surfacing was put down at Dovecote Park in Barwell after the parish council received £6,800.
Other schemes in the village will see investment also, including floor refurbishment in the public toilets and fencing around the play area at Radford Park.
The money is from the 2017/18 Parish Community Initiative Fund. Since its inception in 2005 the fund has distributed more than £1 million towards 261 parish or voluntary organisations schemes.
Organised by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council the fund is aimed at small scale capital projects which can make a big difference to communities.
In 2016/17 the scheme received 41 applications from across the borough and a total of £111,344 was awarded to 38 schemes.
Projects successful within the 2017/18 grant provision are getting more cash after councillors agreed last September to increase the funding pot.
Now parishes have £12,000 available to them with cash provided for up to 60% of the project costs.
The Barwell improvements are among 28 schemes deemed worthy of support for 2017/18. A total of 55 applications were received requesting a total of £239,445, a huge over-subscription.
As the borough’s fund total is capped at £125,000 a scoring criteria has to be employed with members of the Green Space team assessing each bid.
The popularity of the fund and the quality of the bids were acknowledged by the team who sought approval for extra money to be spent on a further 17 schemes.
The council agreed with some £38,000 plus allocated from the borough’s new parish grant initiative, the Developing Communities Fund.
Beneficiaries (by parish council area) are:
Barlestone: improvements to ball court and installation of a disability friendly entrance barriers at Bosworth Road Park, £2,651;
Burbage: refurbishment of Hinckley Road pavilion including repainting, new heating system, new showers and the installation of a new connecting footpath, £12,000;
Desford - purchase of a defibrillator for retirement village by Kirkby Grange Village Association, £767;
- Supply and installation of Desford village map and information board at the village library, a noticeboard at the cemetery and bike racks and dog tether at the post office, £2,309;
- Sport in Desford improvements to drainage and reseeding the football pitch, improvements to the referee’s room and new goal posts, £2,968;
- The Desford Tapestry Group equipment to assist with the production of a tapestry depicting the history and life of Desford district, to be carried out by the community, £773;
Earl Shilton: new mini-bus for Age UK Earl Shilton, £9,918;
Groby: installation of a children’s assault course at the Queen Elizabeth 90th park, £6,000;
Higham-on-the-Hill: new safety surfacing for the play area at King George V recreation ground, £3,553;
Market Bosworth: redesign and refurbishment of the memorial gardens as a community space to remember those who lost their lives in both world wars, £2,790;
Markfield: St Peter’s Copt Oak parochial church council for repairs to the gable ends and coping stones to the church to help finish extensive repairs carried out in 2016, £2,000;
Nailstone: village signs, noticeboards and benches within Nailstone conservation area, £5,926
Newbold Verdon: play equipment aimed at the toddler age group at the Dragon Lane recreation ground, £1,962;
Shackerstone: purchasing of land and property from the Crown Estate including Shackerstone Village Hall, cemetery extension, land at Poplar Terrace, play areas at Odstone and Shackerstone and the village green at Shackerstone, £12,000;
Sibson District Church Council: lighting along the driveway to the church to improve visibility to the church door at Sheepy, £876;
Sheepy: improvements to link path from the main road in Sheepy Magna to the pathway around the glade on the playing fields, to allow access for disabled users, £4,800;
- purchase of defibrillators for three villages within the parish of Sheepy - £1,798;
Sheepy District Church Council: a sound system in the church to improve the acoustics and benefit of the hard of hearing, £4,526;
Stanton-under-Bardon: new slide and the replacement of the play area gates at village recreation ground, £4,294;
- additional furniture for the village hall through Stantonunder-Bardon Village Hall Trust, £160;
Stoke Golding: replacement of unsafe roundabout with a new one for use by disabled and ablebodied users, £5,938;
Dadlington (Sutton Cheney): extension of Dadlington village hall to increase floor space and to fit bi-fold doors opening onto village green which will allow the attachment of a marquee for events, £12,000;
Twycross: purchase of (play area and memorial from the Crown Estate Twycross Parish, £6,900;
Witherley: resurfacing of a grass area to create a hard standing parking at the church and community facility in Fenny Drayton, £4,980;
Naturespot (various parishes) - creation of a web page for 20 parish areas to log and record wildlife - £2,160. land site) with
The bonus schemes are: Bagworth and Thornton: speed activation signs at Station Road, Bagworth and Main Street, Thornton, £5,370;
Barlestone: seating and new planters in the area known as the Roundhouse in the centre of Barlestone, £1,899;
Cadeby: improvements to church hall including decorating, storage cupboards and exhibition boards for interpreting the story of Cadeby, £2,000;
Carlton: refurbishment of former telephone box to house leaflet rack, noticeboard and community defibrillator, £324;
- laying of hedge at Carlton Parish Cemetery to improve security and to benefit wildlife, £108;
- planting of five native oak trees in prominent locations within the village of Carlton, £287;
Desford: hanging baskets, tools and water butts for Desford in Bloom initiative, £1,469;
- redecoration of rooms at Desford Free Church including painting and new curtains, £1,302;
- new floor mats, tough trays and storage boxes at St. Martin’s Church Centre in Desford for baby and toddler group, £311;
Earl Shilton: hanging baskets, irrigation system and tools for Earl Shilton in Bloom initiative, £2,082;
Market Bosworth: community archaeological dig to help discover the early history of the settlement, £9,210;
Peckleton: community seating at Kirkby Mallory recreation ground and Kirkby Mallory Village Centre, £731;
S t a n t o n - u n d e r- B a r d o n : repairs at Without Walls Christian Fellowship building, £1,635;
Stoke Golding: renovations to provide community space at St Margaret’s Church, £2,506;
Norton Juxta Twycross: tables and signs to assist with fundraising events to support the village hall, £700;
Witherley: new footpath to improve safety along Kennel Lane, £7,020.