£500k funding secured to support green spaces in local communities

Norwich City Council, supported by a consortium of voluntary and private sector businesses, has secured £500k from the government's Community Renewal Fund (CRF).

The fund - totaling £220m across the country - aims to support people and communities to pilot new projects and approaches across local areas.

Norwich's allocation will be used to support projects between January and July 2022, with an emphasis on unlocking the potential of green spaces to support biodiversity and wellbeing.

Much of the funding will be used to recruit individuals to drive forward community projects, either employed by the city council directly or by a partner organisation.

Councillor Alan Waters, leader of the council, said: "We are so happy to have secured this funding, and I would like to thank everyone involved in the bid for making it happen.

"This will create a number of employment opportunities for passionate local people, who understand the challenges and opportunities of their own areas brilliantly.

"This funding will support schemes to better understand the needs and motivations of communities, and will in turn inform future bids for funding to continue the progress made."

A number of programmes will be supported by the CRF funding. These include green space projects, digital inclusion initiatives, and business support schemes.

Local resident, Cym Cant, Chair of the Heathgate, Tenants and Residents Association said: "This grant will be a huge positive boost for our Heathgate community.

"We have a large number of green and open spaces all across the estate which can now benefit from this much-needed new funding and investment, and the improvements it will bring."

A significant proportion of the funding will be channelled into existing local voluntary and community groups to provide skills training and workshops in city neighbourhoods.

The project team is very keen to hear from groups that already deliver workshops themselves, and may wish to deliver these in new areas of the city.

Organisations can email [email protected] for more information.