Five community projects to receive £28,212 from Frodsham Wind Farm donations

FIVE community-based projects have been awarded a total of £28,212 from the latest round of payments made by Frodsham Wind Farm Ltd.
The projects have been chosen from the Marshes Community Benefit Fund (MCBF) Panel in the twelfth round of the twice-yearly awards since the fund was established in 2016.
Panel members analysed each of the applications and performed due diligence to ensure that they were able to agree to award £28,212 to five worthy recipients, from Helsby, Frodsham, Ince and Alvanley, as all applications met the award criteria and offered ventures that would benefit the local community.
Not-for-profit schools, charities, businesses, community groups or clubs considering a project which would benefit the local community which meet the criteria for funding from the MCBF are invited to apply – even if they have applied unsuccessfully in the past.
Guidelines for applications and details of the award process are available on the MCBF website.
The five successful projects in the lates round of awards are:
Weaver Words – £2,000 towards a specific community outreach project which will provide a series of inspirational creative writing sessions in local schools with leading local poets.
The theme is “new beginnings” to promote new writing about life after lockdown looking at hopes and aspirations for the future, which will provide inspiration for the children to enter the Great Weaver Words Writing Prize for children. The prizes consist of book token prizes for junior and senior categories. The literature festival will take place in May 2023, across five days and includes headline speakers, performances and workshops and writing competitions for adults and children.
Association of Frodsham Townfield Allotments (AFTA) – £3,050 to purchase a ride on lawn mower.
The AFTA is a tenant community group set up to run allotments for the benefits of all tenants. With responsibility to improve the site for the current tenants, they also maintain the physical infrastructure of the site such as the water supply, cutting of hedges and grass tracks and paths.
In the last year the AFTA recognising the benefits to mental and physical health by providing access to outdoor activities has provided the opportunity for two community groups to facilitate gardening clubs and wellbeing sessions on their site. These are run by ‘OPAL’ (Older People Active Lives) and ‘The Good Shed’.
The ride on lawn mower will reduce the group’s expenditure as there will no longer be a need to contract grass cutters which will help to reduce the need to increase rental costs for tenants and will also reduce the time required for maintenance volunteers in-between seasonal contracted grass cuts, allowing them more time to support current tenants.
The Good Shed – acts as an umbrella organisation whose aim is to provide local community group services that improves member’s sense of wellbeing, which in turn will improve physical and mental health. This newly formed local group is working in partnership with Frodsham, Helsby and Elton Care Community has developed a
community wellbeing plot based on Townfield Lane Allotments, Frodsham.
The £2,611.92 allocated will go towards providing resources for the latest project, Main Street Memory Café which will launch this winter in Frodsham. The volunteer led café will provide support, a listening ear and sign posting to relevant services for people living with memory loss or dementia and carers and loved ones.
OPAL – A small charity whose mission is to enrich the lives of older people and their carers has been awarded £19,000 to fund a new service called OPAL Choices, building on existing services in the Marshes area will further develop the welcoming social hubs for older people, aged 60 and over, who are at risk of social isolation and loneliness.
This will be achieved by linking up two other successful services Branching Out and OPAL GoOnLine, signpost and if needed support individuals to engage in a wider range of local activities either provided by OPAL or by others across Helsby, Frodsham and Elton, such as Yoga, walking and birdwatching. By creating welcoming social hubs older vulnerable often disconnect people, who find it difficult to engage in community services, will be able to choose how much they engage in.
Peer support will be developed to assist individuals who need support to access the services as well as structured activities such as trips to musical events and theatre to help forge self- supporting common interest friendships.
Dunham Hill Hapsford Parish Council – £1,550 towards their project, ‘improving the area of Hapsford –working together to improve the area and improve community spirit’. The financial support will be used to improve the green space within the small rural hamlet of Hapsford making it a more enjoyable area to live in, by bringing the community together and enhancing the community spirit.
Across a number of small projects the parish council will extend the planting of wildflowers over the next two years between Helsby and Hapsford and the M56 junction. The project will also further extend the wildflower planting with a variety of high nectar plants to attract bees and other pollinators.
In conjunction with local residences the parish council hopes to create a living teepee for children to play in. it is intended that this will be achieved by running community-based workshops for the residence to attend and assist in the planting and creating of the living teepee together with other willow weaving activities.
Residents have indicated, through a survey, that they would like to create a bring a share area where they could donate books, egetables and other items that could benefit other members of the community.
The MCBF Panel meets again in the Spring to consider all applications submitted by the February 28 deadline.