18 Apr Stansted Airport Community Fund pledges more than £50,000 to local good causes
15 local charities and organisations in Essex and Hertfordshire are set to benefit from a share of £53,000 from the Stansted Airport Community Fund.
Relaunched in January as part of the airport’s commitment to support the local community, the fund’s committee held its first meeting recently awarding grants of between £850 and £5000 to projects that met the funding criteria.
Councillor Gary Le Count, chair of the fund, was delighted with the level of interest. He said:
“We were pleased to see so many applications from such a diverse range of community groups. It has been a great pleasure for me, and the rest of the committee, to award over £50,000 in grants during this first phase of funding.”
Hockerill Cricket Club received £5,000 towards the refurbishment of their club house. The club’s treasurer, Sally Vernon, said:
“It was fantastic news when we heard we had been successful in applying to the Stansted Airport Community Fund. The £5,000 we have been awarded will be added to the funds we have already raised and will enable us to have our new clubhouse ready for the summer.
“Our colts, adults and veterans teams as well as the ladies’ rounders team which are based here will now have excellent facilities for many years to come. The grant application was very simple, and I would certainly recommend other local groups to apply for a grant.”
Meanwhile, a £5,000 grant was awarded to the 1st Chesterford Scout Group towards the extension of its scout hut. Group Scout Leader Andrew Taylor said:
“Thank you so much to Stansted Airport Community Fund for their kind donation of £5000 towards our extension project. The finished extension will provide toilets, kitchen, store and an enlarged hall and will make our weekly meeting so much easier and more enjoyable.”
Among the other organisations receiving grants are:
Clavering Cricket Club – pavilion rethatching – £5,000
Clavering Jubilee Field – playground equipment – £5,000
Enterprise East Group, Saffron Walden – visual arts equipment – £5,000
Henham Village Hall – renovations to the hall – £5,000
St Nicholas Church, Berden – roof replacement for church – £5,000
St Paul’s Harlow Town Centre with St Mary’s Little Parndon – building renovations – £5,000
Little Hadham Village Hall Trust – a new set of tables and chairs for events – £4,300
Little Canfield Parish Council – traffic speed indication awareness equipment – £2,500
Aythorpe Roding Village Hall – a new set of tables and chairs for events – £2,339
Stansted Bowling Club – kitchen equipment – £2,000
Great Chesterford Bowls Club – disabled access toilet – £1,000
Hertfordshire Boat Rescue – specialist diving rescue kit – £1,000
St Mary the Virgin church, Wendens Ambo – new bell ropes – £850
Following the airport’s successful planning application to serve up to 43 million passengers a year, it relaunched its community fund in January this year to reinforce its ties with the local community.
The new fund replaces Stansted Airport Community Trust and will provide £150,000 a year in grants to local charities and community groups within a ten-mile radius of the airport.
Projects that support community life, leisure activities, the environment and conservation will qualify to receive donations of up to £5,000, with a flagship award of up to £50,000 being presented annually.
Over the next decade, the airport will contribute £1.5 million to the fund, which will be topped up by fines levied against airlines that violate noise regulations.
