14 December 2009
Community groups take pot of cash from ‘dragons’
FOUR community groups have walked away winners after stepping into the ‘Dragons’ Den’ to pitch for funding out of a £94,000 cash pot available to benefit the community.
Much to the surprise of the bidders all four groups took a share of the community fund from the den after equally impressing a panel of judges, who split the cash between the Coventry-based organisations.
The grants were given as part of a Community Pride scheme, run by Whitefriars Housing Group, which provides funding to community, voluntary or not-profit making groups that pitch creative ideas which deliver long-term benefits for a community.
‘Dragons’ on the panel included head of the Tenant Service Authority Peter Marsh, chief executive of West Mercia Housing Group Howard Farrand, Rachel Hobbs director of housing services for Whitefriars Housing Group, which is part of West Mercia Housing Group, and Whitefriars’ tenant board member Jim Cotterill.
The winning groups are Imagineer and Charterhouse Youth Group which gives performing arts training to help young people to participate in community activities, build confidence and skills; Groundwork West Midlands’ green doctor scheme which will provide employment and training for six young people and link with a graduate programme from Coventry University; Willenhall Community Forum Ltd which is planning to bring back a disused area within the Hagard Community Centre into community use with new furniture, catering equipment, signs, pa system and data protection system; and the Mossdale Improvement Project team (overall winner) to target community empowerment, physical improvements and refurbishment of a community centre in an area which has experienced high levels of anti-social behaviour and community disengagement.
Julie Adams, a resident in Mossdale Close who is part of the team, said: “The money is going to make a huge difference. We have already started to make some improvements to the area but this will help us to do so much more. We plan to do some more landscaping, plant more bulbs to brighten up the street and put up a new sign to welcome people to the area and show that we are proud to live here.
“The area used to be rundown, and people would make the same assumptions about the people living there. But there are really decent people here and we are now committed to turning around the prospects of the area.”
Peter Marsh, head of the Tenant Services Authority, which is the new regulator for affordable housing and works with landlords and tenants to improve services for existing and prospective tenants, said all the organisations pitching for funding were worthy of the funding.
“The grants that have been approved for the community groups will go on to benefit a lot of people in and around Coventry. We were impressed by the level of creativity in the pitches from everyone.
“Projects like this run by Whitefriars Housing Group allows community organisations to access funding and encourage people to get actively involved in making communities better places to live,” said Peter.
Chief executive of West Mercia Housing Group Howard Farrand explained: “As a housing provider we are committed to not only improving homes but also going even further to create communities that our tenants are proud to live in.
“The funding that has been approved for these groups is so greatly deserved. Their pitches were all extremely strong and showed they all equally deserved funding. It is great to see the enthusiasm people have for improving their community and this should be encouraged and rewarded.”
The Community Pride scheme was launched in August 2009, along with Street Pride, which both opened up access to £200,000 worth of funding to benefit Coventry communities. The fund has been created in part due to savings in recent reductions in VAT.
Ends
Notes to Editors
Whitefriars Housing Group Limited is a not-for-profit housing and regeneration organisation established in 2000 that owns and manages approximately 18,000 homes across Coventry.
Whitefriars Housing Group is part of West Mercia Housing Group (WMHG), which is the lead partner of Spectrum Development Partnership. WMHG consists of Whitefriars Housing Group, Harden Housing Association, Nexus Housing, Kemble Housing and Herefordshire Supported Housing for Young People Project. The new combined group, which is a development partner with the Homes and Communities Agency, manages around 23,500 homes across Coventry, the West Midlands, Herefordshire and Worcestershire.
Whitefriars has a key role, in partnership with others, across the West Midlands to develop new affordable homes and regenerate communities.
Since transfer, Whitefriars has spent £340 million to repair and improve its housing stock. The vast majority of its homes now meet the Government’s Decent Homes Standard –ahead of schedule. It is currently embarking on a campaign, Services on the Up, aimed at improving the core services received by residents.
In addition to providing homes, Whitefriars works in partnership with communities and other agencies to provide training and employment opportunities and support services for local residents, with the aim of building sustainable communities.
Whitefriars Housing Group Limited is a charitable industrial and provident society.
For further information please contact Val Hunt or Nikki Cheung at The Bridge Group on
024 7656 0440 or v.hunt@bridge-group.co.uk