Forum Latest News

 

  Aveley Village Community Forum Ltd
Working Hand In Hand with Our Village

http://www.aveleycf.org.uk/

 NEWS RELEASE

 

And so it begins.

 

Aveley Village Community Forum have wasted no time in putting the Reaching Communities Lottery Grant to work and have appointed their first full time member of staff. Ray Munro-Crump has taken on the role of Project Manager. Ray, who comes from Brentwood, is seen here with the Chair of the Forum, Alan Field, signing his contract and witnessed by the Members and Trustees. Ray has worked in Thurrock for around 15 years and was funded by both the Forum and Thurrock Youth and Connexions Service to write the successful Lottery bid on behalf of the Forum.

 The Forum’s next job is to find appropriate premises and fit it out as the new Aveley Youth and Community Centre.

 

 

 ENDS

 Contact:

 Ray Munro-Crump

01277 234892

07973 699902

 

 

BIG FUNDS COMMUNITY CENTRE IN ESSEX VILLAGE

 

 

 A village community in Essex is set to benefit from nearly half a million pounds in Lottery good cause funding following an award announced today.

Aveley Village Community Forum Ltd successfully applied for a Reaching Communities grant from the Big Lottery Fund, securing £492,285, which will be used to establish a community centre for people of all ages.

BIG’s Reaching Communities programme aims to strengthen communities and this grant will see the creation of the Aveley Village Information Advice Regeneration and Young People's Centre. An empty shop is being used as the location for the centre, which will offer a range of activities including IT training through to parent and toddler groups.

Alan Field, Chair of Aveley Village Community Forum, said: “Over the last few years Aveley Village Community Forum has worked with local people to set up a Youth and Community Centre. It was beginning to look as though it may never happen. Now, with this Reaching Communities grant, we can make our dream a reality and really start to help people improve life in our village.

 “We must also thank all those people who helped bring our bid together, such as our local councillors and the Thurrock Council Youth and Connexions Service.”

People of all ages will be able to meet in a friendly social area. Youth workers will run projects to cater for younger people, and training in a variety of skills will be given. Working with the Adult Education Service and others, the centre will provide a venue for short, medium and long-term training courses, which will include first aid, food handling, IT, literacy and numeracy and volunteering. The centre will also stock information and advice leaflets and brochures.

Sara Betsworth, Big Lottery Fund Head of Region for Eastern England, said: ”It is wonderful to see Lottery funding being used to create such an important hub in the community. This facility will greatly enhance life for the people of Aveley and provide vital training and facilities across a range of areas.”

 

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Big Lottery Fund Press Office: 020 7211 1888    

Out of hours contact: 07867 500 572

Public Enquiries Line: 08454 102030                           Textphone: 0845 6021 659

Full details of the Big Lottery Fund programmes and grant awards are available on the website: http://www.nof.org.uk/

 

 

 

Notes to Editors

 

·         Under Reaching Communities, the Big Lottery Fund awards grants between £10,000 and £500,000 to projects that offer people better life chances, build stronger communities, develop improved rural and urban environments and improve health and well being.

  • The Big Lottery Fund (BIG), the largest distributor of National Lottery good cause funding, is responsible for giving out half the money raised for good causes by the National Lottery.
  • BIG is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and the lives of people most in need and has been rolling out grants to health, education, environment and charitable causes across the UK since June 2004. The Fund was formally established by Parliament on 1 December 2006.
  • Since the National Lottery began in 1994, 28p from every pound spent by the public has gone to good causes. As a result, over £23 billion has now been raised and more than 317,000 grants awarded across arts, sport, heritage, charities, health, education and the environment. 

 

 

 Aveley Community Forum
becomes a new company and registered Charity

Nobody, back in 2001 when Thurrock Council set up Community Forums, could really foresee how much a forum could achieve with determination and effort. But in Aveley the Aveley Village Community Forum were determined more could and should be done.

Realising the limitations of being a small local group the members sought ways of improving what they could do. This culminated in a celebration on Monday 16th February when the original community forum was officially dissolved and a new company and registered charity, Aveley Village Community Forum Ltd, took on the responsibilities of the old forum.

The Deputy Mayor of Thurrock, Cllr Maureen Pearce, opened the proceedings and Cllr Joy Redsell spoke about the role of forums across Thurrock. In her speech Cllr Redsell told those present that Aveley Village is the first of the forums set up by Thurrock Council to make the transition from forum to charity.

Amanda Wilton, in her opening address told how excited the forum was at the change and how much more work could be done in the future.

MembersThis transition means that the forum can look further for funding. It has already passed the first stage for a Reaching Communities Lottery bid. This £500,000 bid, if successful, will enable the forum to open a small community centre and take on project workers. It will also allow the forum to continue to work with the Youth Service to provide a purpose built Youth Centre that has been promised for so long.

 In the long term, Aveley Village Community Forum will work to bring about the Intergenerational Community Centre shown in the Local Development Framework and the Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporation Masterplan. 

For further info please contact Ray Munro-Crump on 01277 234892 or 07973 699902 

Sitting (L-R) Dave Robinson, Director, Beryl Davies, Director, Amanda Wilton, Director & Vice Chair, Alex Day, Company Secretary. Jackie Horton, Management Team (MT) & Minute Secretary.

Standing  (L-R) Brenda Marrow MT, Dot Gore MT, Cllr Joy Redsell, Rev Valerie Rockall MT, Cllr Maureen Pearce, Paul Harrington, MT, Member, Simon Black, Thurrock Council, John Cowell, MT.

Aveley Village Community Forum is an independent community group interested in making a real difference to the community.  As a Forum we can:

  • Provide a way for the public to raise their own views and concerns about Thurrock Council or local issues;
  • Strengthen local community networks and develop constructive and effective partnerships between local people and the Council;
  • Allocate funding for local initiatives, once they've been officially agreed. 

Every year we hold an AGM and the community vote on members of public on to the committee and to fill the officer positions. Currently we have:

Chair: Pastor Alan Field - Vice Chair: Amanda Wilton - Secretary: Jackie Horton - Treasurer: Alex Day

 Aveley Village Community Forum work closely with Aveley Kenninngtons Community Forum.

Please contact us