It was ‘decision day’ last Saturday at Bo’ness Town Hall where residents voted for which projects would receive money from Falkirk Council’s new Community Changes Fund.
The fund made available £40,000 for Bo’ness and Blackness, £27,000 for Maddiston and £11,000 for Grangemouth and were to go to projects that would contribute to improving the lives of people in those areas.
The council said it had 19 applications totalling £96,000 from the £40,000 fund, which meant that some lost out.
The successful Bo’ness projects were – school/youth: Deanburn Primary School Fundraising Group – for an outdoor trim track, £8000; Bo’ness Academy – the Chillax Community Partnership Hub, £3400; Bo’ness Rugby Club – youth expansion, £1500; St Mary’s Primary School – breakfast club, £2000; Bo’ness Playaway Play Group – Fun to Play, £1350; Blackness Area Community Council – Blackness playpark improvement, £3000.
Social: Bo’ness and Area Community Bus Association – Community Bus Service, £7000; The Barony Players – Barony Players in their Community, £5250; Newton Park Association – Newton Park Community Hub, £4000; Carriden Community Volunteer Group – IT for all Ages, £1500; Kinnneil Band – instrument replacement project, £1500; White Lady Mountain Biking CIC – Kinneil Trails Skills Loop, £1500.
Robert Snedden from the Newton Park Community Hub said the group would use £4000 it received for conceptual drawings for the hub.
He said: “We would really like to thank Falkirk Council for this generosity and thank everyone who voted for us.
A council spokesperson said: “All three of our events had a fantastic response with more than 800 residents taking part in deciding which projects would receive funding locally.”
“We have been able to offer £78,000 of funding through participatory budgeting that will make a real difference to the 27 projects that were successful, with at least 10 projects funded through our small grants fund.”