Posted on Thursday 13th July 2023
Joanne Cutbush by the school bike shed
Communities across Staffordshire are set to benefit from an extra £91,500 funding for projects that help tackle climate change or protect the environment.
The Staffordshire County Council Climate Action Fund, now in its fourth year, to date has supported 290 projects providing £201,500 in funding.
Amongst the projects funded and making a difference is Outwoods Primary School in Burton, which received money for a bike and scooter shed for students, to travel to and from school sustainably. A community church in Rugeley received £1,000 to upgrade to LED lighting in their sports hall and Rugeley Air Cadets installed solar lighting outside, creating a functioning outdoor space whilst reducing their energy usage.
The funding is open to not-for profit organisations including charities, societies, voluntary and community groups, parish councils and schools.
Simon Tagg, Staffordshire County Council’s cabinet member for environment, infrastructure, and climate change, said:
“Tackling climate change remains one of the county council's top priorities and through these projects, and by all working together, we can make a real difference.
This is the fourth year of the scheme and I’m delighted that schools and community groups have another opportunity to fund important schemes. There will be two rounds of funding; the first for applications received by 29 September. It’s a great scheme, that we know is having an impact, and I would encourage groups to speak to their local county councillor and get their application in early to get the best chance of receiving funding.”
Talking about the project, Outwoods Headteacher, Joanne Cutbush said:
“We’ve been very lucky to get funding through the Climate Action Fund for this to even be possible. Without that, we wouldn’t have been able to put this great facility in our school community.
We know that the pollution outside school during pick up and drop off times is incredibly high, and we wanted to do something about that. We’re all working as a community to have a great impact.”
People can watch this video to learn more about the school’s project here.
Each county councillor has £1,500 to give out in their area and a minimum of £500 per application applies. Groups can apply to more than one county councillor and receive a total grant of up to £3,000.
To apply for a grant, organisations will first need to speak with their county councillor and then apply online at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/climatefund