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Last updated: 23 November 2008
The £30 million Community Assets programme funded by the OTS and delivered by the Big Lottery Fund, has confirmed the first grant to be £337,000 funding for the Pelton Fell Community Resource Centre in Chester-le-Street. Under the scheme, the centre will be transferred into the hands of the community who will actually use it.
The Community Assets programme is designed to enable third sector organisations to have greater control over the assets they use, such as community buildings.
In April 2008, 38 projects across England were shortlisted to receive grants and were invited to develop detailed plans for the project for a non-competitive assessment. All shortlisted projects are then assessed over a four-month period from the date of submission.
The £337,000 Community Assets grant confirmed today, funds part of a £937,000 partnership between Chester-le-Street District Council and Pelton Fell Community Group. Work will start this autumn through to summer 2009 to refurbish and extend the Pelton Fell Community Resource Centre. Over 3,000 people from Pelton Fell and neighbouring areas plus around 30 community organisations will benefit from the grant.
The Pelton Fell Community Group will manage the community centre which will bring a new lease of life to the area enabling them to take a brave step forward into the world of social enterprise including cultivating new community interests, a community café sports bar and multi-use games area (MUGA) to deliver the priorities identified by local residents. The asset will be transferred via a 99-year lease at a peppercorn rent.
Kevin Brennan MP, Minister for the Third Sector, said:
“I am delighted to confirm that the Pelton Fell Community Group is the first Community Assets grant to be awarded in England. The strong partnership between the Group and the Council will ensure a smooth transfer of the building to the local community so that they can use it to run the projects they know they need.
“The Community Assets programme has generated a wide range of very impressive projects. I’m looking forward to visiting some of the projects over the next few months as the process of grants being confirmed gets underway. It will be very interesting to witness the refurbishment of local authority buildings into new resources owned and managed by the community."
Linda Ebbatson, Leader of Chester-Le-Street District Council and Roy Templeman, Chief Executive said:
“We are absolutely delighted to receive news of the Community Assets grant to enable the local community and the Council to move forward with the regeneration of the heart of Pelton Fell. The community centre is the final piece of the jigsaw puzzle in regenerating the village of Pelton Fell which has been an example of how local authorities and communities can work together to produce sustainable regeneration of an area in which people live.”
Sanjay Dighe, England Country Chair for the Big Lottery Fund commented:
“Community Assets has been the first non-lottery grant programme to be delivered by BIG. We are delighted with the smooth process and our ability to combine our strong track record of working with communities and making a real difference to the lives of people most in need."
Further information on the Community Assets programme can be found on the Big Lottery Fund website: