Council awards more than £79,000 to voluntary groups

The MSDC Cabinet Grants Panel met on October 31, to discuss the grant funding allocations and the award of £79,361 to the successful applicants was confirmed on November 9.

Burgess Hill Town Council has been granted £4,500 towards a summer programme of specialist activities for older children.

The activity days, which will run for one day each, include a zip wire in St John’s Park, an outdoor cinema and an escape room where a group of players are locked in a room and have 30 minutes to solve challenging puzzles and escape the room.

Scaynes Hill Cricket Club has been awarded £10,046 towards the provision of a new artificial cricket pitch.

The current pitch is no longer meets the English Cricket Board (ECB) safety standards and, as it is used for all junior matches, a replacement is needed before the start of next season. This grant will go a long way towards the provision of a modern ECB approved pitch, which will ensure the club can continue to grow and cricket can be played for many years to come.

Summerhaven secured £1,000 towards the mental health drop-in sessions they provide at the Old Post Office in Burgess Hill.

Volunteers help people with mental health problems to access a safe space and avoid social isolation.

The West Sussex Mediation Service (WSMS) was awarded £2,500 to support the valuable services they provide for the Mid Sussex community.

WSMS specialise in neighbour disputes and help local people to resolve issues like noise nuisance, anti-social behaviour and disagreements over property boundaries.

By resolving conflict they help to improve people’s lives, removing the stress and anxiety caused by the dispute and improving health and wellbeing.

Councillor Jonathan Ash-Edwards said: “Voluntary organisations provide many valuable services for local people and I am proud that we are able to support them with the allocation of this grant funding.

“So many local volunteers give up their time to provide help and support for the people who need it most. It’s potentially life-changing work and I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for the army of volunteers that do so much for the Mid Sussex community.

“Voluntary organisations are reliant on external funding and charitable donations to survive so it’s essential that we continue to show our support for the great work they are doing by awarding these grants.”

For more information contact the MSDC Community Services Team on 01444 477275 or email [email protected].