Information on Loughborough

grants available

Posted on 24/07/2007
Loughborough Newsdesk

the banks, quornCommunity groups and environmental projects in Leicestershire can benefit from a £286,000 grant scheme.

Leicestershire County Council is seeking bids for the FLAG Grants Scheme, which over the last five years has invested £1.2 million into 47 community and environmental projects in areas affected by quarrying or sand and gravel extraction.

FLAG, which stands for Forward with Leicestershire Aggregate Grants, offers grants of up to £50,000 to community groups, charities, parish and district councils, religious organisations, schools and private landowners.

An example of the work that has been funded is The Banks in Quorn. The Project involved the construction of features including granite walls and piers, installation of decorative themed railings, gates and archway features, resurfacing works and decorative paving, ad creation of a designated disabled parking bay near the Church Rooms entrance. The total cost of the project was £118k and a grant of £52k was made by the FLAG grant scheme.

morley quarryIn Shepshed a grant of £18537 was made for Morley Pond Improvements. The later scheme involved a range of works including new interpretation boards detailing the geology, history and wildlife of the site, and new safety fencing to discourage access onto the sheer rock faces. A sturdy barrier was also erected at the car park entrance to help to solve a problem with unauthorised vehicle access.

Applicants must be able to show that their project will help to mitigate or compensate for the effects of quarrying sand, gravel or crushed rock in Leicestershire.

Alan Morrison, the County Councils Community Services Director, said: "This scheme has helped a series of important community and environmental projects across the county. "I would encourage any potential applicant, who lives in an area affected by aggregate extraction, to get in touch to see how FLAG could help them.

FLAGs money comes from the Governments Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund which forms part of the Leicestershire Local Area Agreement pooled funding.