Chance to share in £30,000 pot

A new community panel is offering £30,000 to support proposals for youth and community activities in Knaresborough.
Chain Lane opening.Chain Lane opening.
Chain Lane opening.

The ‘Try It Fund’ welcomes proposals from local residents, community groups or small businesses, who will be asked to complete a short application form to assess the appropriateness of their proposal. They may then be invited to “pitch” their idea to a panel.

A spokesperson for Your Consortium Ltd (YCL), a voluntary and community sector organisation based at the newly revamped Chain Lane Community Centre, said the initiative would provide an opportunity to grow new, exciting, demand-led services for people of all ages. He added there would be a particular focus on delivering the activities at the Chain Lane centre.

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The Try It Fund is made up of £15,000 from the Stronger Communities scheme launched by North Yorkshire County Council (NYCC) in November to mitigate the effect of its budget cuts to libraries, community transport, open access youth services and some services for older and more vulnerable adults. The programme is financed by a ring-fenced public grant, and not from the general revenue budget.

The other £15,000 will come from Skelwith Leisure, part of the Skelwith Group based in York, and owners of the Flaxby Golf Course.

Support is being offered by representatives from the Stronger Communities group, Chain Lane Community Hub, Skelwith Leisure and King James’s School.

“Communities know their own areas best and what kinds of services, culture and economy they wish to develop,” said County Coun Carl Les, North Yorkshire’s executive member for central services.

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“The county council sees its role, where appropriate, to support communities to create local solutions and to do things for themselves. This is why we have developed our Stronger Communities programme.”

l Try It Fund details and application pack can be downloaded from http://www.chainlane.org/try.html. The closing date is Monday, March 16.