Successful funding bids to be announced

Successful bids for funding from the new older people’s opportunities fund will be announced when the Action: St Oswald and Ruyton-XI-Towns local joint committee meets on Wednesday 25 June at Rhydycroesau village hall. The meeting starts at 7.00pm, and all local residents are invited to attend.

The fund was set up at the group’s last meeting on 10 April, with volunteers and older people’s groups in the area having until 16 May to submit applications for up to £1,500 of funding. Altogether some 14 funding bids were received.

The meeting will be combined with the Oswestry South PACT (Partners and Communities Together) meeting for the first time. There will also be an opportunity to put forward ideas for discussion at future meetings and people will be able to say how the committee should spend its budget of £40,000.

Dilys Gaskill, Shropshire county councillor for Ruyton-XI-Towns and committee chairman, said: “I would like to thank all the local people and groups who have submitted applications for funding from the older people’s opportunities fund. I am delighted that we will be able to use some of the committee’s budget to help them in their valuable work and look forward to announcing the names of the successful bids at our meeting.”

Action: St Oswald and Ruyton-XI-Towns covers Kinnerley, Knockin, Llanyblodwel, Llanymynech and Pant, Melverley, Oswestry Rural, Ruyton-XI-Towns, West Felton, Llanyblodwel and Porthywaen, and the Maeserfield ward of Oswestry Town Council.

Meetings are held four times a year, and each offers local people the chance to meet with local councillors and get involved in decisions affecting their community.

Nearly 40 people attended the last meeting of Action: St Oswald and Ruyton-XI-Towns held on 10 April at Knockin Assembly Rooms.

As well as discussing opportunities for older people and setting up the fund, the committee also allocated £4,400 to fund additional dual-purpose litter bins around the area.

Action: St Oswald and Ruyton-XI-Towns is one of eleven local committee pilots that are now meeting regularly across Shropshire. The committee is made up of local county, borough, town and parish councillors.

For more information and notes from previous meeting follow the link.

6 June 2008