Community groups have benefited from the latest round of grants to be announced by the Awards for All scheme.

The scheme awards lottery-funded grants, which are aimed at small groups working on community projects.

Among those to benefit from the grants, which can range between £500 to £5,000, are Colchester-based sports projects.

The North East Essex Sub Aqua Club has been awarded £2,414 to buy aqua lung sets, buoyancy aids and equipment targeted at younger members.

Girls football at the Colchester Athletic Youth Football Club will receive a grant of £2,700, which will pay for training for new and existing volunteer coaches.

The Beaumont Seymour North East Essex Womens Cricket League plans to hold taster sessions and coaching for girls during open days and supervised sessions with a grant of £4,280.

The North Essex Netball Development Group and The National Deaf Squash Association plan to invest in coaching thanks to grants of nearly £5,000 each.

The Awards for All scheme is open to small organisations with a turnover of less than £20,000, which are working on projects designed to increase community activities.

Elsewhere in the town, Friends of Hillhouse Wood, based in West Bergholt, will now be able to buy a £3,100 Bush Hog machine, which will be used to help conservation volunteers clear overgrown areas of the 1,000 year old wood.

Other groups to win awards include:

Colchester Unit of the Sea Cadet Corps £5,000 to convert a former engine room and install a modern heating system

The Red House Artists Garden Project Group £5,000 to build a sensory garden which will be accessible to wheelchair users and open to the public

Essex Storytellers £3,000 to undertake a project with school children including storywalks along the River Colne and evening performances in Wivenhoe and Fingringhoe.

Published Wednesday, April 16, 2003

Brought to you by the Evening Gazette