Help keep out New Year chill with council heating efficiency grant

RESIDENTS of West Somerset feeling the chill in the New Year are being urged to take advantage of a newly-launched scheme to help them with keeping their homes warm.
The Warm Streets programme is just one of a number of grant and discount schemes available to help residents to heat their homes more efficiently while saving money.
West Somerset Council housing portfolio holder Councillor Kate Kravis said: “We help fund Warm Streets because it directly benefits people who need to make savings and heat their homes effectively.
“Homeowners and privately-renting tenants can get free cavity wall and, in many cases, loft insulation if they are over the age of 70 or in receipt of a qualifying benefit.
“Qualifying benefits include disability living allowance and attendance allowance.
“Householders over 60 and families with children under 16 with low savings and income of less than £20,000 before tax may also be entitled to free measures through a council grant.
“Discounts often apply for households who do not qualify for free installation.
“It is an excellent scheme, and we hope people will ’phone to see if the team can help.”
Warm Streets manager Helen Richardson said: “Insulating your walls and roof can make a dramatic difference to both your fuel bills and the comfort of your home. An uninsulated house will lose approximately 35 per cent of its heat through its walls and 25 per cent of its heat straight through the roof.”
Other grants and discounts, such as Warm Front, Warm Front 300, and the Magic Boiler Scheme, are also available to help fund the installation of heating or repairs to existing systems.
Anybody who wants more information on any of the above schemes, or other energy-related matters, should contact the South West Energy Saving Trust advice centre on 0800 512 012.
Its team of advisers can help people access a range of local and national energy efficiency grants and discounts as well as offering free, impartial advice on how to reduce fuel bills through low-cost and no-cost measures.

Concern over 'ghost hunting' grant as Lottery supports West Somerset toddler group

A WEST Somerset support group for parents with young children was celebrating today after being awarded a National Lottery grant of more than £3,000.
Stogumber Toddlers and Tiddlers will use the money to buy equipment which it can use to deliver activities for parents and children who attend the group.
The group, which meets weekly, has received £3,340 from the Lottery’s Awards for All initiative.
Awards for All is the small grants scheme administered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of Lottery good cause funders Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund, and Sport England.
The scheme makes awards of between £300 and £10,000 to grass-roots community groups and voluntary organisations.
Big Lottery Fund regional head Mark Cotton said: “Overall, 59 fantastic schemes secured funding across the South West region this month, including a remarkable festival of earth science, an important chance for veterans to remember brothers from the Second World War, and a determined group of volunteers taking the environment into their own hands.
“I am so pleased over £350,000 will be shared out among all the successful schemes in this round of Lottery awards.”
However, some concern has been expressed at the fund’s controversial decision to award more than £2,000 to a group of ‘ghost hunters’.
It was the second Lottery award in a year for the group, Paranormal Site Investigators, based in Wiltshire.
Awards for All justified the £2,133 grant to the physic investigators by saying it would be used to ‘promote the haunted heritage’ of the South West with material sent to schools and made available to the public, as well as five ‘heritage events’ being organised for school pupils, college students, and the public.

CLOWNS gets Lottery grant for play scheme, but Playbus still under threat

NEWS of a £164,295 National Lottery award to West Somerset children’s charity CLOWNS has been tempered by continuing worries over the viability of some of its other services.
CLOWNS has achieved a track record over many years of delivering quality, affordable and fun outreach provision and support to families across West Somerset and Exmoor.
It now provides more than 1,500 different sessions every year, with a total of more than 9,000 attendances, visiting 24 different village and town locations.
The windfall from the Big Lottery Fund will allow it to expand its former Tumbling Toddlers scheme which was primarily aimed at young children, to engage with the whole family in fun activities.
Entire families will be encouraged to be more active and learn about healthy eating.
An outreach support van will travel to villages to offer isolated families an opportunity to join in weekly physical activity sessions in their local village halls, schools, or children’s centres.
Parents, grandparents, carers, and children aged up to four years will share the themed sessions, which aim to educate in areas of healthy living and eating as well as early literacy and numeracy.
CLOWNS co-ordinator Kathy Morton said: “We are so pleased that we have the funding for this important part of our work.
“It will make a huge difference to the lives of some of our most isolated families across the area, and we are now busy preparing for this new work.”
However, Mrs Morton warned the charity was still worried about all the other funding it needed to be able to carry on with all the other parts of its work.
She said the Lottery good news had been followed by some bad news when another funding application was turned down.
Mrs Morton said: “We still need to get funding for the costs of running the Playbus.
“We should be taking delivery of our new double decker bus very shortly, but we are still short of at least £35,000 of the total running cost for the whole year’s budget.
“We will now try other avenues of support, but it all takes a lot of time and effort. We would all prefer to be out delivering all our sessions.”
CLOWNS chairman Jan Ross, told The Post: “We have several strands of provision, including our well-known double decker Playbus, outreach support van, toy library, scrap store, and holiday play schemes.”
Mrs Ross said recent consultations carried out by West Somerset Council showed people were concerned about the lack of facilities and activities for children and families at ‘reasonable’ prices.
A local area agreement had set a target under to increase the proportion of adults who did at least three 30-minute sessions of moderate or strenuous physical activity a week.
Mrs Ross said CLOWNS would work with health and physical activity manager Tracey Milton and her team from Somerset Primary Care Trust to carry out appropriate fun diagnostic tests at the beginning of the programmes, with regular monitoring of progress of individuals during the project.
Somerset Activity and Sports Partnership would also work in partnership with the new project.
Big Lottery Fund regional head Mark Cotton said: “This award will help families interact and enjoy learning in fun and stimulating surroundings.
“Some areas of the county are very isolated, making some facilities much less accessible so I am certain these projects will bring a great deal to families and communities as a whole.”
CLOWNS welcomes visitors, and would be pleased to meet anybody interested in its work. More information can be obtained or appointments made by telephoning 01643 707190.

Lottery grant means play facilities for rural children

A £200,000 National Lottery windfall means play areas and mobile rural play facilities can be developed for children in West Somerset.
The district council has secured the cash for its play strategy from the Big Lottery’s Children’s Play Programme.
A similar £208,682 grant went to Taunton Deane Borough Council, while Sedgemoor District Council was awarded £230,000.
West Somerset portfolio holder for children and young people, Councillor Eddie May, said: “We are delighted at the successful bid because of the huge benefits play facilities bring to children’s enjoyment, well-being, and health.
“This is the culmination of a lot of hard work from officers and partners, and we are really pleased at the positive outcome.
“This money has not been secured for the council, but for our children’s futures.
“With our play strategy, we will be able to encourage and support communities and individuals to improve their quality of life by identifying and providing better opportunities, particularly for children.”
Three projects in the council’s play strategy will benefit from the grant, including the appointment of ‘play rangers’ which will be delivered in partnership with Taunton Deane and Sedgemoor.
The councils will employ a team of play rangers to oversee the development of play facilities.
A second project is the development of Cross Farm Park, in Alcombe, to offer better play facilities for children, which will be delivered in partnership with Minehead Town Council.
Most of the district’s rural areas will also benefit from the boost which will be provided for mobile play facilities.
Leisure, culture, and recreation portfolio holder Councillor Neil Parbrook said: “This is a welcome boost for children’s facilities in the area.
“Play is a vital part of children’s development and this will help provide them with a stimulating environment to grow up in.”
The Lottery grant provides funding for the projects for the next three years.
District council’s community specialist for children, young people, and culture, Janice Malarkey, said: “I am delighted with the result of the Lottery application. We are looking forward to working with the play partnership to successfully deliver these projects, which will greatly benefit children and young people in West Somerset.
“We would like to thank the play partnership, Play England, and Barnardos for their hard work and support during the production of the play strategy, which can be found on the West Somerset Council website.”
Taunton Deane leisure executive Councillor Richard Lees said: “I am delighted that we have obtained this amount of money and in partnership can now plan to provide a play structure for young people.
“Play is so important in creating imaginative minds, and being physically active in a controlled environment, allowing children to be themselves and enjoy their childhood.”
Wiveliscombe, Milverton, and Norton Fitzwarren will all be among the villages to benefit from the project.
For more information on the play partnership in West Somerset, log onto www.westsomersetonline.gov.uk or contact Janice Malarkey on 01984 635238 or email Janice on jmalarkey@westsomerset.gov.uk.

• Pictured at Cross Farm Park, Alcombe, are (left to right) West Somerset Strategic Partnership chairman Loretta Whetlor, Minehead Town Council clerk Sue Sanders, CLOWNS chairman Jan Ross, district council community specialist for children Janice Malarkey, and leisure portfolio holder Councillor Neil Parbrook. Photo submitted.


• Mind in Taunton and West Somerset has received a £1,070 grant from the National Lottery’s Awards For All scheme.
  The money will be put toward an IT work area in the Peace of Mind day project, allowing service users access to online resources and word-processing and printing facilities.
  One-to-one training will also be available for those who are less computer literate.