£2 million of National Lottery money to make great things happen in rural Wales
22 Mar 2017 11:57 AM
The Big Lottery Fund yesterday announced that it is awarding a £2 million community development grant that will tackle poverty in rural parts of Wales.
Severn Wye Energy Agency, in partnership with BRO Partnership, receive £2,044,849 over seven years to support up to 30 communities in Anglesey, Gwynedd, Conwy, Denbighshire, Powys, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Monmouthshire to tackle poverty in their areas.
The grant has been made possible thanks to National Lottery players’ tickets purchases.
The partnership will also be working with Professor Paul Milbourne of Cardiff University’s School of Geography and Planning, whose research focuses on the rural dimensions of poverty, social exclusion, and welfare in Wales, the UK and internationally.
A recent study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation on poverty in Wales showed that approximately 700,000 people, about 23% of the Welsh population, were in poverty in the three years leading up to 2014/15.
The partnership will support communities to address issues that could include employment and income, transport and access to services, poor broadband and digital exclusion, housing and fuel poverty, and demand for welfare and advice services.
Welcoming the grant, Simone Lowthe-Thomas, of Severn Wye Energy Agency, said: “This grant provides us with an excellent opportunity to support communities to consider the challenges and opportunities in their area and find ways to tackle rural poverty and improve quality of life for all. SevernWye and the BRO Partnership have considerable experience in supporting communities across Wales through programmes such as through Create Your Space and Cynefin.
“We are very excited at the opportunity to support communities to take a bit more control over their futures and improve wellbeing. We will not replicate existing provision, but rather support communities and local organisations already working in these areas, to build on what already exists and explore new approaches to tackling issues that adversely impact rural communities in Wales.”
Rob Roffe, Senior Policy and Learning Manager at Big Lottery Fund Wales, said: “The Rural programme will support rural, Welsh communities to identify, and tackle the issues that are most important to them.
“By supporting and engaging with communities to create opportunities, and develop solutions to issues that they face, we are delivering on our promise to put people and communities at the heart of what we do, and it’s thanks to National Lottery players that this is being made possible.”
For more information on Big Lottery Fund grants, please visit https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/wales, and for information on Severn Wye, please visit http://www.severnwye.org.uk
Further Information:
Alex Davies - Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 02920 678236
Public Enquiries Line: 0300 123 0735
Textphone: 0845 6021 659
Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available at:www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
Follow Big Lottery Fund Wales on Twitter: www.twitter.com/biglotterywales
Find Big Lottery Fund Wales on Facebook: www.facebook.com/biglotteryfundwales
- The Big Lottery Fund supports the aspirations of people who want to make life better for their communities across the UK. We are responsible for giving out 40% of the money raised by the National Lottery and invest over £650 million a year in projects big and small in health, education, environment and charitable purposes.
- Since June 2004 we have awarded over £6.5 billion to projects that make a difference to people and communities in need, from early years intervention to commemorative travel funding for World War Two veterans.
- Since the National Lottery began in 1994, £34 billion has been raised and more than 500,000 grants awarded.