Yorkshire Energy Park (YEP) has awarded £20,000 of grants in the first round of its Community Fund to support local community groups and charity operations in South West Holderness.
Some 15 organisations from the local area have benefited from funding for projects, ranging from schools and sports groups to Brownies and the Royal British Legion.
The grants will go towards helping several valuable local projects, including supporting St Augustine’s Pantry food bank in Hedon, providing activities for children at Paull Primary School, and helping Preston United AFC and Thorngumbald Barrons to continue their work in providing sports activities for local people.
Other recipients include Preston Brownies and Hedon Guides, Hedon Museum, the Royal British Legion Hedon, Thorngumbald Pre School, Friends of Thorngumbald School and Hedon Methodist Church.
Sue Pulko, of St Augustine’s Pantry, said: “St Augustine’s Pantry was set up in 2020 by the church to reduce the financial pressure on those who are struggling for money, and help improve their sense of self-worth.
“We help around 25-30 families each week, providing donated food and household goods. Since the start of the year and the rising cost of living, we’ve seen more and more people coming to us for help. The funding we’ve received from the Yorkshire Energy Park Community Fund will enable us to continue helping local families in their time of need.”
Andrew Reynolds, project director of Yorkshire Energy Park, said: “We’re delighted to be part of the local community in South West Holderness, and to be able to support many organisations that make a huge difference to the local area.
“We were bowled over by the number of high- quality applications and the decisions around which groups to support were tough.
“As we look forward to the development of Yorkshire Energy Park, we’ll continue with our commitments to support the region by creating jobs, supporting education and skills development and giving back to the local community.”
The Yorkshire Energy Park Community Fund will consider applications from projects that promote green living and create better environments, such as community planting projects or nature trails; inspire people to learn and undertake training, such as free training courses or advice sessions for residents; or improve the local community, such as community events, support for local sports teams or groups, or encouraging volunteering.
The fund, administered by long-standing local charity Hull CVS, made grants of £500 to £5,000 available to groups operating within the South West Holderness ward of East Riding Council.
An independent panel of local people, including councillors and volunteers at local community groups, decided which local groups would benefit from the scheme.
Yorkshire Energy Park, which is under development, will be a UK energy and technology business park, located near Preston. It will deliver renewable energy, battery storage and state-of-the-art digital infrastructure, plus space for research and development.
East Riding Council’s planning committee voted in favour of granting planning permission for the scheme in November 2019 on the basis of significant economic, social and environmental benefits, including £200 million investment into the Humber region over an estimated 10-year development period and about 4,480 new jobs directly and indirectly related to its construction.
The park will also include a business incubator space for start-ups and SMEs, an education campus and new community sports facilities, and a 45-hectare protected wildlife zone.
Kersty Smith, of Hull CVS, said: “We’re delighted to be involved with the management of the Community Fund on behalf of the Yorkshire Energy Park. The fund ensures that voluntary groups in the South West Holderness area are able to deliver vital work in the community and help to make the area a better place to live, work and visit.
“The full grant allocation has now been dispersed following a hugely successful launch, and we’ll be opening up for more applications from April 2024. We’d love to see as many groups as possible apply so they can continue to deliver great projects and activities across the ward.
“We’d recommend that groups wanting to sign up for this and other funding in the South West Holderness area register on the East Riding 4 Community website – funding.idoxopen4community.co.uk/er – for updates on when more grants will be available.”
