Seed Grants Awarded

Chilcompton Parish Council - Health & Wellbeing Review Survey

A parish-wide well-being survey was conducted to explore how connected parish residents feel to their community, to see what support there might be for developing projects, to help increase social connections and activity, and to improve well-being of people living in the village.

The survey was well responded to and the Parish Council now have a set of actions guided by the survey results that could be initiated to help improve the well-being of the village .

Short Term Actions:

Making the Parish Council more visible.
Raising awareness of what is already going on in the village.
Make better use of the Old Rec.
Making the most of the village heritage and encouraging walking.

Longer Term Actions

Set up a well-being group.
Creating community green spaces.
Reducing speed of traffic in the village.
Potholes and pavements .

Exmoor LCN (via Dulverton Town Council) - Moorland Foodbank Scoping Project

The Moorland Foodbank Development Project set out to ensure the continuity and growth of the local food bank to ensure ongoing support for South Exmoor households.

This was an extremely successful project, establishing a secure and sustainable framework for Moorland Foodbank to continue to provide support for local residents. Achievements included:

Establishing a new premises.
Recruitment of new volunteers.
Contracting an experience local consultant.
Connecting with key partners to ensure that clear information is available to all.
Successful registration as a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity number 1211198).
Create of new communication channels.

Photos: George Ody

Hestercombe LCN (via West Monkton Parish Council) - Children & Young People Scoping Project

This seed grant funded research into the views and ideas of young people across the eight parishes in the Hestercombe LCN.

This consultation exercise aimed to discover:

What do young people identify as their most immediate needs?
Are these needs focused in certain geographical locations?
What is it that will draw young people to participate in communal activities, and what are the barriers?
What activities could encourage socialisation, build confidence, develop life skills and prepare young people for adulthood?
Are we providing universal access across the range of activities available to young people?

This project was very well-received and proved to be a way for councils across the LCN to collaborate in addressing delivering youth provision. Hestercombe LCN has now secured a further large grant for the continuation of their Children & Young People Project.

Ilminster Town Council - Community Transport Scoping Consultation

This is a scoping project to investigate what community transport the residents of Ilminster and the surrounding parishes would support or like to see.

What this project hopes to achieve:

To identify what forms of community transport residents are looking for, with the potential to inform future projects such as setting up community transport or supporting existing community transport providers to extend their services.
To signpost residents to existing services that meet their needs, but they might not already be aware of.

Levels & Moors LCN (via Langport Town Council) - Loneliness Scoping Project

The Levels & Moors LCN, covering 34 parishes, is working together to reduce social isolation and loneliness. This is a scoping project to map out existing activities and support systems across parishes, identify gaps and promote shared access to social opportunities across the LCN.

The aim of this project is to compile a directory of all activities and share this across the parishes in the LCN. Consideration will be given as to how residents can be encouraged to partake in activities that are in other parishes.

Martock Parish Council - Community Support Working Together Viability Exercise

This project involves a viability exercise exploring opportunities to expand community support services by working with nearby parishes to assess local needs, strengthen partnerships, and develop a sustainable plan for future joint services.

The seed grant is funding a consultant to liaise with the local parishes surrounding Martock to understand if similar community need has been established in other parishes and how these parishes could collaborative to create a wider project sustainable beyond the grant.

Shepton Mallet Town Council - Youth Council Scoping Project

This seed grant supported the establishment of a Youth Council in Shepton Mallet. The project involved engaging in consultations with a range of stakeholders and youth-oriented organisations to shape the foundations of the Youth Council and generate interest in its development.

Project aims:

To collaborate with young people in Shepton Mallet to form a representative and inclusive Youth Council.
To promote civic engagement among youth.
To develop leadership and decision-making skills.
To support and encourage youth-led community projects.
To empower young people and build their confidence, enabling them to contribute meaningfully to social, economic. and cultural life of their community.
To ensure widespread awareness of the Youth Council project among local young people.
To offer opportunities such as work experience, internships and apprenticeships.

Wells & Rural LCN (via Wells City Council) - Rural Youth Provision Scoping Project

Through the Wells & Rural LCN, there is potential to ensure further resilience of existing youth provision and serve a greater number of young residents across not only Wells itself, but all surrounding parishes, and create a partnership of youth work within the LCN area.

This seed grant involves a scoping exercise to further explore the surrounding youth need within the proximity of Wells, and to determine how this may sit within the existing provision, or further compliment it.

This project is in partnership with YMCA Brunel Group and will involve surveying and consulting the local community regarding youth provision. The Wells & Rural LCN discussions have identified possible needs and barriers for youth provision in the local area, including physical access, such as transport. This projects looks to refine this information.

Seed Grants Awarded

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