Latest News
April & May 2010 Update
Events
Green Infrastructure Master Class Series - Urban Food and Natural Economy.
These master classes, hosted by Natural England and Sustainability South West, are an opportunity for all those engaged with the investment and delivery of green infrastructure (GI) across the South West. It aims to help you ensure delivery of better GI in new or regenerated places, and sustainable communities in villages, towns and cities across the South West. These master classes are suitable for specialists, academics and managers in business, social and environmental sectors, including housing, land management, planning, community development, sustainable development, education and tourism. Also for those directly involved with economic regeneration.
10 May, 2010: NATURAL ECONOMY...unlocking the economic value of the natural environment in the South West (Exeter)
Key Class Leader- Will Williams (Director, Natural Economy Northwest)
http://www.sustainabilitysouthwest.org.uk/assets/files/word/Natural%20Economy%20Master%20Class%20Booking%20Form.doc
Action for Market Towns “Attracting and Retaining Visitors' to our market towns”
Just a reminder to let you know there are still some places available on our next Towns Alive Market Town Seminar, which will take place on Thursday, 13th May 2010, in Malton, North Yorkshire. The event will be about 'Attracting and Retaining Visitors' to our market towns. Come along and learn how to identify the events and attractions which are your town's visitor magnets. In an effort to help towns combat the ongoing effects of the recession, the seminar will focus on helping market towns realise their visitor offer and increase ‘footfall’ of both residents and visitors (from near and far). The event will cover how to identify which features and attractions can contribute to getting people not only to visit but to return, stay longer and hopefully spend. Click here for a detailed programme and event information
The Venue: Ryedale House, Old Malton Road, Malton, North Yorkshire. YO17 7HH
To Book: To secure your place, please click here to access and complete the online booking form as soon as possible. This will allow us to confirm numbers with the caterers and venue. If you need any assistance or have any questions about your booking, please contact Dawn Dowds, Action for Market Towns at dawn.dowds@towns.org.uk Tel. 01284 756567
24th June - Plymouth: Simply Governance
An overview of the structures, systems and processes concerned with running a sustainable community food enterprise. The workshops are full days - from 10am-4pm with lunch provided - and are free of charge if you are a development worker or involved in a community food enterprise. Places for the training days are limited and these workshops are often oversubscribed, so please visit www.mlfw.co.uk/training to book your place now or to look at an overview of our annual training programme.
Funding
Dividend fund to benefit local communities
The Community Dividend Fund uses the “odd pence” donated from Co-operative Group Dividend cardholders to fund projects that benefit local communities. Community and voluntary groups as well as charities are able to apply for funding of between £100 and £5,000 to support projects that benefit the local community. To be eligible, the project must benefit a local community in which at least one Co-operative group business trades.
The type of activities supported must fulfil a perceived need in the local community by addressing community issues such as combating crime and anti-social behaviour, promoting education and improving health.
Applications can be made at any time.
http://www.co-operative.coop/membership/Community-Fund/
The People’s Millions 2010
The People's Millions - the popular partnership between the Big Lottery Fund and ITV - is now open for applications for 2010. This is your chance to win up to £50,000 to improve your local area. Come up with a new and original idea that will make life better for people where you live, and you could be on ITV this November, competing for viewers' votes. The application form and further details can be found at www.peoplesmillions.org.uk Get your skates on though - the deadline for entries is 12pm on 14 May 2010.
DORSET (DOFAN)
Dorset AONB Sustainable Development Fund
Funding for projects that will help to care for the Dorset AONB and the people who live and work in it, you will need to check whether your project lies within the AONB boundaries, although in some cases projects from outside these areas can be supported. Broadly, AONB is looking to support projects that:
Grants of up to £20,000 are available please see the website for deadlines. http://www.dorsetaonb.org.uk/default.asp or Tel: 01305 756782
East Dorset community development grants
Funding is available to a wide range of voluntary organisations in East Dorset that work with, and for, the community. The council’s Grant Aid Schemes are designed to assist voluntary organisations and individuals who would not otherwise be supported. Groups working on lifelong learning projects, supporting young people and the elderly, the disabled and those disadvantaged by social exclusions will be given greater priority. Grants of up to £10,000 are available to cover both capital and revenue costs, other funding will need to be secured.
http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=387693
West Dorset
Advice and various capital grants are available to community or voluntary groups working to generate, develop and promote economic and social wellbeing within West Dorset. Will give funding for new projects, including capital items, and a contribution towards running costs.
Tel: (01305) 251010 http://www.dorsetforyou.com/index.jsp?articleid=387697
The Prince's Trust - community cash awards
Community Cash Awards Give practical and financial support, developing key workplace skills such as confidence and motivation. Work with 14 to 30-year-olds who have struggled at school, have been in care, are long-term unemployed or have been in trouble with the law.
Community Cash Awards are grants to help you set up a project that will benefit the community.
The Prince's Trust - Community Cash Awards
Tel: 01179 292 300
Freephone 0800 842842
webinfosw@princes-trust.org.uk
www.princes-trust.org.uk
Small grant programme for community projects
Esmee Fairbarn supports and strengthen small Community Organisations operating in the rural areas, market and coastal towns of the South West Region. The focus will be on activities that enable people from diverse backgrounds to become engaged in their neighbourhoods and communities and to support those organisations that are bringing about real change to the lives of the people who live in those communities.
Funding Type: Grants under £1,000.
Telephone: 01275 333 666.
http://www.esmeefairbairn.org.uk/
Funding is still available to make your group more effective.
Independent voluntary organisations and community groups based in Dorset can apply for up to £1,000 to develop fundraising or trading ideas, write tenders, update their business plans or carry out similar activities. The money can be used to pay for outside consultants, extra hours for existing staff, or for volunteer expenses. For details and an application form, contact Rachelle Smith on 01305 216411 or email rachelle.smith@dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk
Increasing the knowledge and appreciation of any matters of historic, artistic, architectural, aesthetic, literary, musical or theatrical interest
Old Possum's Practical Trust aims to increase the knowledge and appreciation of any matters of historic, artistic, architectural, aesthetic, literary, musical or theatrical interest, by supporting organisations with grants of between £500 and £5,000. Priority will be given to projects that involve children or young people, disabled or disadvantaged people, communities, and which enhance the lives of others, rather than the well-being of the applicants themselves. Applications can be submitted at any time. http://www.old-possums-practical-trust.org.uk/page.cfm?pageid=300#
Wessex Watermark
Support community and voluntary projects that will directly benefit the environment in the Wessex Water Region. Grants of between £100 and £1,500 are available for project costs, with an additional award of £2,500 which is made to a selected special project. Other funding will need to be secured.
Tel: (020) 7591 311 http://www.conservationfoundation.co.uk http://www.wessexwater.co.uk/watermark
Grants for Planting Trees
The Tree Council, the lead tree campaigning charity working to promote the importance of trees within the changing environment has announced that its Trees for Communities and Trees for Schools grant making programmes are now open for applications. Funds are available for schools and community groups within the UK who are able to show that children under the age of 16 will be actively engaged in the planting projects. The Tree Council's National Tree Week is the focus for these projects and successful applicants organise their planting events in conjunction with the Tree Council’s annual celebration of the new tree planting season. The Tree Council are able to fund projects between £100 and £700 and successful applicants will receive up to 75% towards their planting costs. For example, if your project totals £700, The Tree Council would offer up to £525. The remaining 25% will need to be secured by your school or organisation. The closing date for applications has now been extended to the 10th May 2010. http://www.treecouncil.org.uk/?q=grants
Mini Mediabox
Media box offers disadvantaged 13 to 19 year olds the opportunity to develop and produce creative media projects, using film, television, print, radio or online platforms. Mini Mediabox provides grants of £1,000 to £5,000 and is open to grassroots and community youth organisations with a turnover of £150,000 or under as well as schools. The next closing date for applications is the 31st May 2010. http://www.media-box.co.uk/funding/mini-mediabox
The Community Foundation Bournemouth, Dorset, Poole
The Community Foundation administers a variety of funds which aim to support not for profit voluntary and community groups across the whole of Dorset. Grants vary from £150 - £10,000 depending on fund. Applications can be sent at anytime. For any further information or an informal chat please call. Tel: 01202 292255 e-mail: bdpfoundation@btconnect.com
http://www.localgiving4dorset.org.uk/home/home.php
Cash from quarries
A new round of funding is now available for Dorset communities affected by quarrying or the transportation of aggregates. The latest round of the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund, also known as COMMA, opened on 1 March and applications must be in by 14 May. To be eligible, projects must be within a 10 km radius of an aggregates extraction site (either used or disused more information on web-site). The proposed project must benefit the whole community, or a section of it, but not an individual. Parish and town councils, charities and community organisations can all apply, but potential applicants are advised to contact Rachelle Smith at Dorset Community Action in the first instance, to check if their project qualifies. Communities can request between £3,000 and £20,000. All projects must be completed by the end of March 2011. Call Rachelle Smith on 01305 216411 or email rachelle.smith@dorsetcommunityaction.org.uk
Sport for Change
Comic Relief has announced their ‘Sport for Change’ programme will open on 14 November 2010. The programme aims to understand how sport can play a role in delivering positive change in communities and individuals’ lives. Applicants will need to show how sport is being used in a broader programme to achieve measurable social change or impact. Consortium applications are eligible as long as it is lead by a ‘community organisation’.
The maximum grant size is £100,000 in total.
More info: www.comicrelief.com/apply_for_a_grant/uk/sport
Sport England’s Small Grants Programme
The Small Grants Programme offers grants of between £300 and £10,000 towards projects which total costs do not exceed £50,000. Applications are open to any non-profit club or association, statutory body or educational establishment. The programme aims to support local community projects that will increase or sustain participation or develop opportunities for people to excel at their chosen sport.
More info: www.sportengland.org/funding/small_grants.aspx
O2 It's Your Community awards
The 'It's Your Community' awards from 02 provide up to £1,000 to local groups and individuals for anything that can be shown to benefit their community. The awards are independently judged and administered by The Conservation Foundation. More info: www.itsyourcommunity.co.uk
Training & Support
The Social Investment BusinessRegen.net
Sponsored content:
the Social Investment Business can offer support to organizations with one-off problems or on an ongoing basis. Our Business Support Team provides specialist business support to help organizations run their businesses more effectively. We bring together in-house advisers and external specialist consultants who offer advice, guidance, mentoring and support to help organizations develop robust, sustainable plans and work through problems.
Find out more: www.thesocialinvestmentbusiness.org/business-support or call the team on 0191 269 2269
The Social Investment BusinessRegen.net
Fundraising Skills Workshop
Wednesday 5th May
Venue: The Jubilee Room, Gillingham Town Hall 1.45 pm - 4.30 pm
A workshop for members of small / medium voluntary or community groups who are registered charities OR recognised by HMRC as a charity for tax purposes. Discover the ‘Six Secrets of Successful Fundraising’, then carry out a bid comparison exercise as a Funder! Places are limited to twelve per workshop
The Social Investment BusinessRegen.net
Introduction to Trusteeship
12th May
Venue: Dorford Centre, Dorchester 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
Tutors: Heather Williams and Caroline Scott
Basic essentials for committee members, governing documents, charity law and policies and procedures. Refreshments provided but not lunch, bring own or purchase locally. Please be aware this is Market day so parking will be at a premium.
The Social Investment BusinessRegen.net
‘Skilling Up’ Skills for Influence
Friday 21st May
Upwey Old School Village Hall 11.00 am - 1.00 pm
Exploring the practical and people skills and related behaviors that can be used to overcome potential blocks to influencing others
The Social Investment BusinessRegen.net
Fundraising Skills Workshop
Wednesday 26th May
The Exchange, Sturminster Newton 1.45 pm - 4.30 pm
A workshop for members of small and medium voluntary or community groups who are registered charities OR recognized by HMRC as a charity for tax purposes. Discover the ‘Six Secrets of Successful Fundraising’, and then carry out a bid comparison exercise as a Funder! Places are limited to twelve per workshop
Other Information
Action for Market Towns has published a paper setting out an agenda for market towns for the next ten years - and members are asked to find out candidates views on the proposals. ‘A Market Town Renaissance: The Next Ten Years’ sets out principles for supporting self-reliance in communities. Small towns - whether archetypal market town, former industrial centre or fishing port – serve 12 million people. A renaissance over the past ten years has helped tackle hidden deprivation and ensure that, collectively, the towns are a major economic force. Where it has worked well, it has combined strategic support from principal local authorities with strong local leadership and a spirit of self-reliance and enterprise by town councils, community partnerships and business forums.
To read the full paper, go to:
http://towns.org.uk/knowledge-hub/knowledge-hub/market-towns-the-next-10-years/
Loyalty Schemes - AMT research
Action for Market Towns have been looking into a number of town-centered Loyalty Schemes.
Some are basic retail promotions, some use sophisticated card systems. As one element of building and supporting a thriving town centre, which some people refer to as 'Shop Local' campaigns, loyalty schemes have their place, alongside;
•Marketing and Promotion
•Guidance and training for retailers
•Shop front improvements and Public Realm enhancements
New community-owned shops website
A new website and network for community-owned rural shops has been set up. It allows people to communicate with each other, share ideas and experiences and learn about setting up and running a community-owned shop. The shop directory has details of the 230+ communities already running their own shop. The website is at: http://www.plunkett.uk.net/
The First Purbeck Walking Festival - May 3rd –May 7th 2010
The first annual Swanage & Purbeck Walking Festival is now an essential event for the spring calendar for walkers of all abilities. a World Heritage site, the Purbecks are blessed with breathtaking scenery such as the chalk cliffs around the Studland peninsula, historic villages such as Corfe Castle, and the hidden coves of Chapman’s Pool and Kimmeridge Bay. Miles of coastal and countryside paths make for unrivalled walking, as well as bird and wildlife watching, particularly as the area is home to many rare species.
For more information of the festival programme visit: www.walkswanage.com
Online Town Benchmarking system:
Local Authorities are being increasingly asked to review and provide evidence on the economic and social well being of their rural localities e.g. the new PPS4 on Planning for Sustainable Economic Growth which requires the health of town centres to be monitored and reported on. To help with what could be a daunting task, Action for Market Towns has developed the innovative online Town Benchmarking system,
12 Key Performance Indicators;
For February 2010 Update please download here
For January 2010 Update please download here
For December 2009 Updates please download here
For November 2009 Update please download here
Wareham Events
This event focused on developing local tourism, looking at information centres, events & festivals and image & branding.
We had a total of 25 people attending, including visitors from Somerset, which is always welcome.
The day started with a tour of Wareham, looking at its tourist attractions such as the old harbour, and the Saxon walls & church, and also dropped in to see the award winning Purbeck Information & Heritage Centre.
Once back in the Town Hall, and following refreshments and a welcome from Wareham Mayor Cllr Audrey Tighe, we had presentations and discussions on Information Centres, Events & Festivals, and Image & Branding. The format was for two short (bite sized!) presentations on each topic, with time for discussion, questions and comments, so it was a tight timetable, but people had the opportunity to network and catch up on specific issues in more detail over lunch.
Information Centres.
We had presentations about the award winning Purbeck Information & Heritage Centre, talking about the ingredients for success, and the Blandford Forum Information Centres, a very different Centre being run by volunteers.
Important lessons from the presentations included the need to link imaginatively with other organisations, including commercial ones, to become more financially viable; and the question (& risks) of using volunteers to reduce overheads. Issues which came out in the discussions included the high level of use by local people, the benefits of acting as a general information centre rather than just tourism information. Following on from this, the use of the phrase ‘Tourism Information’ can be counterproductive, e.g. in Blandford 75% of users are local people, and it was easier to get funding towards an ‘Information Centre’.
There is also a town Visitor Survey template developed in Somerset where volunteers from town carry out peer review Visitor Surveys on other towns, which Dorset towns could look at, website at www.somersetmarkettowns.co.uk/uploads/documents/visitorsauditsummaryreport.pdf
Events & Festivals.
We had presentations about two very different events, one the Sherborne in Bloom competition, and the Lyme Regis Fossil Festival.
There were key lessons which came from both presentations, and in the discussion that followed, it was clear that events did bring great benefit to the towns, in terms of raising the profile, bringing people into the town, and a catalyst for developing the town community itself through people working together. It was also stressed that it was most important to involve and have the support of the town council and that commercial sponsors should be found. But it is a big commitment, and once started, needs to be kept going and getting better as well!
It can be difficult to measure the benefit of events and festivals, and Newark Town Council has developed a Toolkit for assessing the Economic Impact, website:
http://www.newark.gov.uk/events/festivals-and-events-in-market-towns.html
Some felt it would be useful if there was a simple template for organising events and festivals, and the Towns’ Forum will develop a simple template, with input from Christchurch Borough Council and others who have lots of experience, and put this up on the website.
Frome had also developed a really imaginative event for a leg of the cycling Tour of England, with the Cobble Wobble, with a short video shown over lunch video website here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkqzNj3UChY
Image & Branding
We had presentations which looked at what image and branding is, and the specific experience of Sturminster Newton, with the branding of the SturQuest Community Partnership, and the experience from Cittaslow (Slow Town Movement).
Some towns already have a strong image such as Lyme Regis, and other towns are looking to develop their identity, such as Sherborne seeking to become a cultural centre for the region, and part of this will be developing their image and brand. The importance of a really suitable unifying name was stressed as well as the need to excite the whole community.
At the end of the meeting, David Webb from the Dorset Towns’ Forum Steering Group summed up the meeting and urged everyone to go back to their towns with some of the excellent ideas and lessons which had emerged during the day.
Over lunch, everyone was able to network with other people and follow up on their specific interests. The feedback was good, and people had clearly found it useful hearing about such a wide range of initiatives.
Many thanks to Wareham Town Council and the Wareham and District Development Trust for their support for the event
Other Events
Link for National Family Week is: www.nationalfamilyweek.co.uk/view.2010-Landing-Page-NFW-2010
Link for a summary of the conference is: http://towns.org.uk/2009/10/23/amt-convention-2/
For summary, see press release at: http://towns.org.uk/2009/10/01/2009-south-west-market-town-awards/details If you are an AMT member, for further information the link is: http://towns.org.uk/good-practice/market-town-awards/ Otherwise contact team@sturquest.org.uk to find out more
Website created by Billie-Lou Rentall 2009 ©
