Councillors’ Pride Fund to continue delivering community benefits
Telford & Wrekin Council has today confirmed that its Councillor’s Pride Fund will renew for the forthcoming year, continuing to improve the lives of residents right across the borough.
For 2023/24, the fund will see £5,000 allocated to each of Telford and Wrekin’s 54 ward members, to be spent on projects that matter in their local area.
The Councillor’s Pride Fund was established by Telford & Wrekin Council in 2011, providing more than £1.7m in grants to date, and supporting almost 300 projects that benefit local communities in the last year alone.
With increased demand as a result of the cost of living crisis, community food hubs have been a focus for a number of grants from the Councillors’ Pride Fund over the last year. All Nations Church received £2,000 for its community food hub to purchase equipment and weekly ingredients to enable cookery classes to run throughout 2023, while Newport Food Bank and Wrekin View Food Bank also received funding to provide food for their communities, including offering a Christmas meal at the community café.
Other projects supported by the fund during 2022/23 included:
- £1,300 for the AFC Telford United Foundation to run weekly sports sessions in Horsehay & Lightmoor ward;
- £4,000 towards reflooring Leegomery Community Centre;
- £2,260 to fund solar speed indicator devices in Oakengates and Ketley Bank;
- £1,000 to carry out repairs to the pond at Madeley Community Orchard;
- £2,000 for a community art project at Brookside Central;
- £6,000 to support outdoor learning at Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School, who have just been named RHS School Gardening Team of the Year 2023.
Cllr Raj Mehta (Lab), cabinet member for inclusion, engagement, equalities and civic pride said:
“As a council on the side of our residents, it is wonderful to reflect on all the projects and activities that the Councillor’s Pride Fund has supported over the past 12 years. I’m delighted to see the scheme continue, with a total of £270,000 available for the coming year, enabling councillors to inject a much-needed cash boost directly into their local area, improving the lives of their community.
“The fund supports the council’s goal to protect, care and invest to create a better borough. As a co-operative council, communities are at the heart of everything we do and this money is helping a wide variety of organisations to continue offering valuable services, keeping people throughout our borough safe, healthy and happy.”
Photo courtesy of Sir Alexander Fleming Primary School (recipients of Councillors' Pride Fund) who have just been named RHS School Gardening Team of the Year 2023.
