Funding bidsare approved

Organisations behind various Renfrewshire community projects have landed a major boost after elected members approved their bids for funding.

More than £160,000 will be shared among 7th Paisley and District JNI Scout Group, Brick Lane Music Academy, Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust, Sculpture House Collective and Renfrewshire Community Transport.

It comes after they made applications to the sustainable communities fund, which supports projects that promote or improve community collaboration, health and wellbeing, local spaces, economic development, biodiversity and the environment.

Councillor Robert Innes, an SNP representative for Houston, Crosslee and Linwood, said: “I did want to particularly highlight the award for the Renfrewshire Community Transport Group.

“I think that’s a brilliant initiative that everybody should get behind.

“We’re all moaning about buses all the time.

“This is a group that are actually getting up and taking action and trying to achieve community buses for people in Renfrewshire for these communities that are struggling, that can’t get buses.”

The fund was created after it was agreed last March the council should combine remaining monies from the community empowerment and climate change action funds. It was further bolstered by cash from the UK shared prosperity fund.

Three types of awards are available through the process, including small (up to £10,000), intermediate (£10,000 to £25,000) and large (up to £100,000) amounts.

Applications were assessed in February by a cross-service panel of officers established to consider the bids against agreed objectives and criteria.

While five totalling £163,383 have been recommended for awards, 10 have been deferred for further information and four were judged not to meet the criteria.

Councillor Gillian Graham, a Labour representative for Johnstone North and the surrounding villages, said: “I would like to congratulate all the groups who have been awarded sustainable communities funding, in particular as you’d imagine, in my ward, Lochwinnoch Community Development Trust.”

A report presented to the board said the fund had been “very popular” since it was launched, attracting a “significant number” of applications.