OVER £0.5million has been made available to local community projects following this year’s first meeting of the Veolia North Thames Trust (VNTT).
A range of initiatives will benefit from the £566,244 funding distribution including sports clubs, community centres, historic buildings and environmental projects.
Thurrock Council received £17,758 for external gym equipment at Grays Town Park following its public consultation at last year’s “Big Lunch”. Equipment has been installed in other local parks and members of the public indicated they would like to see similar apparatus at the park which is well-used by the community.
A Council spokesperson said, “Past Council studies have indicated that open space makes a very significant contribution to local quality of life, and is regarded very highly by residents in Thurrock. VNTT has been able to support a number of projects to help improve the borough’s parks and open space including Dilkes Park and South Ockendon Recreation Ground and we are most grateful for this latest award which will make a positive contribution to residents’ fitness at no personal cost“.
Doug Benjafield, Chair of VNTT said, “The Trustees and I are very pleased to start the year on such a positive note. The standard of projects seeking funding has been very high and we already have a large number of applications in the pipeline – so 2014 is already looking to be a very busy year for us.”
Perhaps the Chadwell St Mary proposed Centre could benefit from these grants, as Thurrock Council revealed today that they will only be spending £30,000 on a public toilet, branding, and a new few furnishings in the Library.