Liverpool City Council have announced a new £1m improvement fund to help communities

Communities across Liverpool are being given the chance to take control of their future thanks to a new £1m city council improvement fund.

The Mayoral Inclusive Growth Fund has been designed to empower residents and groups to become the driving forces for change within their communities by encouraging them to apply for cash-aid.

The fund will support grass-roots initiatives and help individual communities tackle the specific issues they face.

The cash pot is made up of four separate funding streams including a £550,000 Communities Grant, which will be devoted to projects that address issues of deprivation, support children and older people and contribute to the city’s local economy.

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A further £150,000 has been set aside to encourage crowdfunding initiatives for community-based projects. City council grants will be used to pump-prime initiatives that will then raise the remainder of the money needed through crowdfunding donations. The scheme will look to support projects that seek to transform civic spaces and bring communities together.

The rest of the Growth Fund (£200,000) will be used to devise a sustainable food strategy for the city. This will include setting up a series of food collection points and community pantries across the city that will be used to support people and families facing extreme hardship.

The plan has been approved by the Liverpool City Council Cabinet and now local councillors will play a leading role in identifying community groups and projects that fit the funding criteria for the £550,000 Communities Grant.

This summer, Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson, invested £50,000 in creating a Lunch Club to ensure that children could get a decent meal at children’s centres and community venues across the city. Working with community groups, organisations and volunteers, the scheme has fed more than 1,000 children each weekday of the holidays.

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Whilst a further £10,000 has been provided to support the Bay Tree Cookery Academy in providing community-based cookery and food education courses throughout the holidays at venues across the city.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: “Our communities face many challenges and we believe that the people best placed to meet them are those who live in our communities. They know best what will make the difference and we want them to come forward and take control.”

“We must also accept that, as the council’s funding from central government continues to be cut, we can’t tackle these alone.

“The council works in partnership with many groups and organisations and this new fund will be a way of extending that network and enable residents to take an active role in shaping the future of our city.”

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