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Grants News

Grants awarded for Wendover Canal restoration project

 

We’ve worked in partnership with Dacorum Borough Council to award grants to Wendover Canal Trust for a canal restoration project.

Dacorum has given £135,000 and Tring Town Council has given £20,000 towards a project to remove waste from Wendover Canal, which will later enable it to be relined and rewatered. The grants have been matched with a legacy from a former resident of Little Tring.

The restoration project includes the removal of 5,500 cubic metres of household waste. This was tipped for 10 years from 1918 to 1928 into the closed canal at Little Tring by the then Tring Urban District Council.

The tip waste consists mainly of ash and stretches for 270 metres. It’s one of the final barriers to rewatering the Wendover Canal, and its removal will be a significant milestone. It will also allow the re-opening of the towpath through the area currently containing the waste, avoiding the need for walkers, runners and cyclists to divert down the busy Little Tring Road. For the first time in 100 years, there will be a continuous towpath from the Grand Union Canal to Wendover.

Councillor Graeme Elliot, Portfolio Holder for Corporate Services at Dacorum, said: “We are pleased to be able to support this excellent canal restoration project, which when completed will bring a range of biodiversity, health and wellbeing and economic benefits to the area.”

Councillor Christopher Townsend, Mayor of Tring, said: “We have a strong interest in the progress of this magnificent local restoration project, which is staffed entirely by volunteers, and have been pleased to support the removal of the town’s historic household waste from the canal.”

Clive Johnson, Chair of Wendover Canal Trust, said: “We’ve been worrying for so many years how we could afford to safely and legally dispose of this waste blocking the canal, and I am looking forward to it being taken away this summer. I am really pleased that Dacorum Borough Council has been able to help us clear this barrier to local people enjoying this historic canal.”

Small Grants

Tring Town Council sets aside a small budget each year to help groups with expenses for equipment or events. It is able to offer grants to voluntary groups provided they meet its criteria; unfortunately, for legal reasons, it cannot give money to individuals.

Applications are online. You can complete a small grants application form by following this link: Small grants application form

Applications must be accompanied by a set of the group’s last audited/examined accounts; or copies of recent bank statements, if a small group. It is also helpful if you are able to indicate where else you have sought funding, and what percentage of your membership or beneficiaries are from Tring Town.

If you need a paper copy of the form, please email admin@tring.gov.uk

Applications will then be put to the Council’s Finance & Policy Committee, which meets five times a year; please see the meetings page for the dates. Please ensure details of the application reach the Clerk at least a week before any meeting. Late applications of an urgent nature can sometimes be accommodated. Please ring or email for advice.

Applicants will normally receive a decision letter within a fortnight of the Committee meeting. Successful applicants will find a cheque enclosed.

Any grant awarded must be acknowledged in any publicity or literature you subsequently produce.

Further information can be obtained from the Clerk of the Council; please use the Contact page.

Housing Community Grant Scheme

A new Housing Community Grant Scheme has been launched  by Dacorum Borough Council – for Council tenants and leaseholders, to make small estate improvements. There is currently a budget of £15,000, which is from the Housing Revenue fund and can be used for housing related properties and communities. If you would like to apply for part of the grant or have any ideas or suggestions that you would like to put forward, please contact SIETeam@dacorum.gov.uk.

Examples of projects that the scheme could support:

Community events to combat Antisocial Behaviour, and from Neighborhood Agreements

  • Communal improvements eg. security, lighting, fencing, sheds and drying areas
  • Buggy stores
  • Bike racks
  • Upcycling old furniture
  • Improving communal gardens
  • Installing benches and tables
  • Garden furniture
  • Rotary washing lines
  • Troughs to plant vegetation or flowers

Green Homes Grants

Dacorum Borough Council has secured funding through the Government’s ‘Green Homes Grant’ scheme and is working to help local residents make free improvements to their homes.
We have identified thousands of residents who could be entitled to up to £10,000 worth of funding to make energy efficiency improvements to their homes.

To inform residents of this funding we have arranged for a mail out to those we believe could meet the eligibility criteria. Residents will be receiving this information from Monday 31 January onwards.

To be eligible for the grant there are two main criteria:

1.      The resident must own a home in Dacorum that has a low energy efficiency rating, with an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) of D or lower.

2.      The resident’s total household income from employment must be less than £30,000 per year.

OR someone in their household receives certain income, disability, or health-related benefits.

OR they are of state pension age and in receipt of housing credit.

OR earn less than £20,000 after paying for mortgage and council tax.

We are working with Warmworks to help manage this scheme and are directing all resident queries to them – they can call on 0808 196 8255 or complete an online expression of interest form: https://surveys.est.org.uk/s/GreenHomesGrantSchemeLAD/

A third of the borough’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from our homes and so making them as energy efficient as possible will help towards tackling the climate emergency.

Additionally, Green Homes Grant funding is also available for private landlords and social housing. However, a 33% contribution from the landlord is required and the maximum funding per property is £5,000 instead of £10,000.

To find out more about the funding, please visit: www.dacorum.gov.uk/homeenergy<http://www.dacorum.gov.uk/homeenergy>

If you receive queries from your residents regarding this funding, please direct them to the Warmworks contact details above.
Support in sharing the message to residents/landlords who you believe might qualify would be greatly appreciated.