Archive for month: July, 2023
A new Town Centre Manager for Brackley and Towcester
A new town centre manager has been appointed to improve the appeal of Brackley and Towcester Town Centres to visitors and businesses.
Samantha Hosking took up her post a month ago and will be the key point of contact working for West Northamptonshire Council in partnership with Brackley Town Council and Towcester Town Council.
Her new role, which is funded as part of a Section 106 financial contribution made by local developers as part of their planning permission, will include establishing relationships with local businesses, the community, and voluntary organisations.
Samantha, who lives locally, will coordinate and lead on a programme of improvements and innovations to revitalise the much-loved towns whilst promoting the areas for investment and business growth and helping the local economy thrive.
She said:
I can’t wait to make a start and meet with residents and businesses. I am very passionate about improving my local area and supporting business sustainability and growth. I want to bring a buzz back to our high streets. These market towns are full of hidden gems with lots of small, independent businesses and I’m confident that by working with the great people who live and work here, we can continue to make these towns thriving places for everyone to enjoy.
Councillor Daniel Lister, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Economic Development, Town Centre Regeneration and Growth said:
We in West Northamptonshire Council have strong ambitions to broaden the attractiveness of the town centres in terms of their wider leisure and commercial appeal and will look to encourage visitors from far and wide by showcasing the fantastic offer available in both town centres. I would like to extend my congratulations on this well-deserved appointment, and I look forward to working closely with Samantha and both Town Councils, whom all share our ambition and drive to deliver economic prosperity.
The £76M Community Organisations Cost of Living Fund has been launched today (24 July 2023).
The fund will support organisations across England to deliver critical frontline services. Organisations will be able to apply for funding to maintain or expand critical cost of living services from now until the end of March 2024.
Applications will be for amounts between £10,000 and £75,000. The funding is ONLY open to frontline organisations running critical services in communities, in at least one of the follow areas:
- food and emergency supplies – food and other ‘banks’
- emergency shelter – homelessness services
- safe spaces – domestic abuse services and youth services
- warmth – warm spaces / hubs
- financial and housing advice.
Applicants MUST be able to demonstrate both increased costs and increased demand.
The fund is part of the £100M for charities announced in the Spring Budget. It will be administered by the National Lottery Community Fund. More information here.
The application window is now open and will close at 12 noon on Monday 16 October 2023.
DPH Report
The Director of Public Health for West Northamptonshire has recently published her new Annual Report, which can be viewed through the attached letter here
The letter also passports into several case study presentations about Public Health Inequality in West Northamptonshire across different and varying themes.
The Director of Public Health’s contact details are also contained within this content for further information or support.
Tesco Stronger Starts Community Grant funding
With a focus on Schools and Children & Young people’s projects, Tesco community grants are rebranded as Stronger Starts! Applying now for the September to December voting period!
Follow the link to find the application process! Lots of guidance and help or contact sean.silver:groundwork.org.uk for support!
Tesco Stronger Starts (tescocommunitygrants.org.uk)Tesco Stronger Starts (tescocommunitygrants.org.uk)
Check out the highlights from another successful Virtual Wellbeing Festival
The Northamptonshire Virtual Wellbeing Festival 2023 was a fantastic success and we would like to thank each and every one of you for joining us and getting involved.
Last week from Monday 3 to Friday 7 July, thousands of health and care colleagues from across our county visited the Virtual Wellbeing Festival website, dialled in to our inspiring live sessions, joined our superb range of recorded activity sessions and engaged with #VWBF23 on social media.
If you didn’t manage to join in during Festival week, every minute of wellbeing content is available for you to watch back on-demand any time you like!
To see what’s on offer you can enjoy a whistle-stop tour of the full Festival programme in under five minutes by watching our exclusive video highlights reel.
All of this is waiting for you right now at www.wellbeingfestival.live so come on over and check it out. If you see anything you particularly like, don’t forget to share with your colleagues and networks to make sure they don’t miss out.
Every Virtual Wellbeing Festival gives us an opportunity to learn so we’d also be grateful if you could take a few minutes to share your feedback about your own VWBF23 experience. Complete our online feedback form and you’ll be automatically entered into a free prize draw to win some great Virtual Wellbeing Festival goodies!
Thank you once again for being part of the Northamptonshire Virtual Wellbeing Festival.
Lloyds TSB Foundation Local Collaborations programme
The Local Collaborations programme provides grants of £100,000 over two years and development support for collaborations led by small charities to influence and achieve change locally around three themes:
- social security
- accommodation
- refugee and asylum seeker support.
The Foundation is now open for applications until Friday 22nd September. The Panel decisions will be in late February 2024.
You can find out more about the grants programme and how to apply at:
https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/funding/local-collaborations
Please sign up to their webinar on Thursday 13th July time for more information (this will be recorded and made available on their website).
You can also email the Foundation at: collaborations@lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk or book a call with their team.
Health Determinants Research Funding (HRDC)
West Northants Council (WNC) have an exciting opportunity to bid for £5 million pounds to host one of a small number of Health Determinants Research Collaborations. Winning this money would help them to tackle the issues that have the biggest effect on the health and wellbeing of people living and working in West Northants. The HDRC will ensure research is used to support everything they do to improve the lives of our communities. The aim is to create research and evidence on what works and share this widely with other local authorities and partners. WNC would like their colleagues working in the Council to better understand the role they play in improving the health and wellbeing of our communities and how what they do can impact this. The HDRC research agenda will be shaped by the things that affect our health and wellbeing (such as where we live and work) and what we can do to make this better. The HDRC will do this through improving research skills of people working in the local authority, ensuring there are the right resources available, and helping colleagues consider how best to use and conduct research in everything they do.
WNC would like members of the public to be involved in the development of the HDRC proposal and funding application to ensure the collaboration considers the things that are important to our communities. We want to ensure all communities are involved in all stages of the development of the HDRC and its research.
If you would like to attend an online workshop to find out more about and discuss the development of the HDRC on 18th July 2023 (1-2pm) or WNC have created a short survey and they would appreciate your time to respond here.
If you would like to be involved in future conversations about the HDRC please email chloe.gay@westnorthants.gov.uk.
The Community Ownership Fund Round 3
The government is providing £150 million over 4 years to support community groups in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost. There may be several projects which are publicly accessible locations and may require renovations. Voluntary and community groups (and some councils) can bid for funding to acquire important assets and run them for the benefit of the local community. The Fund will run until March 2025 with DLUHC running regular bidding windows throughout the year for applicants to submit a full application to the Fund.
Purpose: Apply for funding to take ownership of assets at risk of loss in the community.
Type of fund: Competitive
Who can apply: Incorporated voluntary and community organisations, and parish, town, and community councils (depending on eligibility requirements)
Capital funding available: Up to £1 million for all asset types, but DLUHC expect that most awards will be for up to £250,000 of capital funding.
Goals:
- support community groups to take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost to the community
- support community groups where the asset is already in community ownership but needs essential renovations to be sustainable for the long-term benefit of the community
- strengthen community ownership across the UK
- strengthen the social infrastructure that helps communities to thrive
Key dates to note:
- Expression of Interest stage – always open
- Round 3 Bidding Window 1 – 31 May – 12 July 2023
- Applications must be submitted by 11:59am on each bidding window’s respective closing date
- There will be 4 bidding windows each year at regular intervals
- March 2025 – Fund closes
Example projects may include:
- Sports and leisure facilities
- Cinemas and theatres
- Music venues
- Museums
- Galleries
- Parks
- Pubs
- Post office buildings
- Shops
Examples can be found at: Community Ownership Fund: successful bidders – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
Further information can be found at Community Ownership Fund: prospectus – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
CTP Mental Health Course
If you are working with people every day, it is likely that you will be in touch with someone experiencing poor mental health. This course will help you understand the factors that contribute to this condition, and what appropriate support looks like. Understanding this supports early intervention and can help prevent the serious consequences of poor mental health.
Find out more information here
