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Rural Partnerships work closely with community groups- often on a face-to-face basis- to help them attain a wide range of ambitions. This includes helping with:- village halls, sports groups and facilities, community centres, heritage groups, community cafes, social enterprises, renewable energy projects, play parks, village improvements, allotments and community gardens. Support is offered throughout the process:- firming the project up, demonstrating need, identifying grants and completing application forms. We help with constitutions and business plans too.
Five young mothers, felt that Oldmeldrum play-park needed a makeover, for lots of young children were moving into their rapidly expanding community. Formartine Partnership supported them throughout. They developed and circulated a questionnaire around local groups and events, to demonstrate need, and gave presentations to local bodies to widen support. Aberdeenshire Landscape Services, helped choose suitable equipment, develop a layout and calculate the cost, providing both illustration and a financial target. Formartine Partnership helped identify funding, develop a constitution and business plan and complete the applications.
Landscape Services’ £25,000 budget for Meldrum Park, provided core funding on which to build other grants. The £74,000 target was achieved quickly and Aberdeenshire erected the equipment, complete with protective carpeting, fencing and borders for safety and a footpath for pushchair access. On July 2nd 2011 a ‘Play-in’ formally opened the new park.
This close cooperation between Meldrum Play, Council and Partnership achieved a win-win-win situation:- Landscape Services’ initial budget was trebled, Meldrum obtained a much wider range of equipment, securing further funding was easier because Landscape Services’ budget was committed up-front and the equipment was erected and will be maintained by the Council, saving the group a major headache and strengthening the grant applications. Also, because of the involvement of the users, there is a good chance that it will be better appreciated, thus reducing maintenance.
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