New grants boost Avonmouth good causes
- Second round of awards made to community groups.
- Company support adds another £35,000 boost to ward initiatives.
- Further bleed kits donation underlines local support.
£35,000 donated to local projects
Charities, support groups and churches will benefit from funding totalling £35,000 following the announcement of a second round of Wessex Water grants for community projects across Avonmouth, Shirehampton and Lawrence Weston to the west of Bristol.
The YTL Wessex Foundation, the charitable arm of the regional utility company, is stepping up its support of local good causes via the Avonmouth Area Community Fund, as it continues the £100 million expansion of the city’s water recycling centre in Avonmouth.
The extensive upgrade at the Kings Weston Lane site, which serves Bristol and surrounding areas, is set to be completed in 2029, is being carried out by sister company YTL Construction UK, with the fund created to help offer support to a wide variety of groups across the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston ward.
A total of £35,000 was allocated in last year’s first funding round, with an identical sum available this time, to projects and activities focused either on support for young people, improving health and wellbeing for local people or access to job-related skills and training.
Charities and groups that received support
The awards include £6,750 to Oasis Community Hub North Bristol to help develop and sustain weekly after-school play sessions in Avonmouth over two years, while £5,000 will go to Bristol After Stroke, towards the funding of a stroke coordinator who manages the support group at Avonmouth.
Jenny Hollis, from Bristol After Stroke, said: “Thank you again for Wessex Water’s support - we are truly grateful. The impact we will be able to make simply wouldn’t be possible without this funding.”
Bristol Dementia Action Alliance has received £5,000 in support of activity groups and events for older people in the Lawrence Weston and Shirehampton areas.
Sam Rock Cooper, from the Alliance, said: “Bristol Dementia Action Alliance is so grateful to Wessex Water for this funding, which will help us make a real difference to the lives of those affected by dementia in the Avonmouth area.
“Our Happy Days Hub – a dementia and ageing well resource in Lawrence Weston provides a community café offering light refreshments, information and resources.
“We run regular activity groups, including two memory cafes and a dementia carers support group each month, along with ad-hoc advice sessions and specific activities such as creating your life story and gentle movement sessions.”
Fund support has also been maintained for causes that were successful in last year’s opening phase of the grant scheme.
These include the Community Church @ Lawrence Weston, which will receive an additional £5,000 towards core cost staffing for ‘Boing!’ – a soft play family support centre for parents, carers and families of 0-5 year olds in the area.
A further £2,750 has been handed to Avonmouth Community Centre towards the running of its after-school youth play club, while Shirehampton Methodist Church has received £5,000 towards running costs for its hub running activities to support local residents with jobs, training, enterprise and wellbeing.
Church team member Victoria Crane said: “All of us at Shirehampton Methodist Church and Hub are really grateful to the Wessex Water Foundation for the Avonmouth Area Community Fund grant.
“We are very privileged to have been awarded this grant for the second year running. It will go a long way to helping fund our Hub activities for another year. Our Hub provides a lifeline for many people in our local community.”
Bristol North West Foodbank, also a grant recipient last year, has received £3,500 to part-fund a woodwork workshop administrator for after school and adult woodworking sessions.
Working with the local community
The Wessex Water Community Liaison Group (CLG), which was set up prior to the start of the expansion and comprised local representatives from Avonmouth, Lawrence Weston, Shirehampton and the company itself, played a leading role in developing the fund.
The group meets regularly to discuss issues around the expansion and ongoing operations at the existing water recycling centre at Kings Weston Lane.
Meanwhile, the Quartet Community Foundation, who provide in-depth local knowledge and grant-giving to grassroots groups across Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, also formed part of the panel, as well as working in partnership with the Wessex Water Foundation.
Project manager for the water recycling centre expansion, Gareth Rogers, said: “We’re very pleased to be able to announce the latest grant recipients, continuing the strong support for local causes in the communities closest to the water recycling centre in Avonmouth.
“A few groups supported this year were also funded in year one of the Fund, a reflection of the panel’s view that the services they are providing are still incredibly valuable in the area.’’
He added: “The expansion of the centre is a vital element of meeting the increasing infrastructure demands that a growing population in the area in and around Bristol will inevitably bring, but we’re determined to leave a further positive impact, helping to achieve good social and environmental outcomes.
“We’re continuing to forge these local relationships and potential collaboration in areas of business, employment, environmental, historical and travel.’’
Further community support
Further community support alongside the water recycling centre expansion has come in the form of a Wessex Water donation of three emergency bleed control kits to Avonmouth, Lawrence Weston and Shirehampton.
The kits, which are designed to provide lifesaving first aid in the event of traumatic injuries, were donated in partnership with the Daniel Baird Foundation and the Bin the Blade campaign.
They are vital in the event of violent incidents, but also serious accidents such as road traffic collisions or workplace injuries, where rapid intervention can make the difference between life and death.
Wessex Water has organised a number of training sessions for local businesses and residents during September and October on how to use the kits effectively in an emergency.
Bioresources Technical and Compliance Manager Harriet Edwards said: “This is a powerful example of how infrastructure projects can deliver meaningful social value beyond their core purpose.
“By working closely with local people and organisations, we’re helping to build safer, more resilient communities.”