Argent Related and Barnet Council, working in partnership to deliver the 180-acre new town centre regeneration project in North London, today announced the 10 local initiatives to be awarded funding as part of its £35,000 Brent Cross Town Community Fund.
Launched in Summer 2021 for its third year, the Fund focuses on supporting local initiatives to celebrate and support the communities in and around the area.
The winners this year include a wide array of projects and initiatives, ranging from supporting the volunteers who manage Cricklewood Millennium Green – a project from Kisharon to support disabled adults to gain valuable horticultural skills and training – to a project from Brent Bulls CIC to offer a women’s basketball tournament and school basketball sessions.
All the successful applications and their projects are as follows:
- All Saints Church
All Saints Church will receive funding to create a mural along the Childs Hill Walk. This will be created through workshops and volunteering sessions with the community and completed by a local muralist. This will make the passage more welcoming to local people and celebrate the community’s heritage.
- Brent Bulls CIC Basketball Club
Brent Bulls CIC Basketball Club will receive funding to deliver a women’s 3×3 basketball tournament as well as offering basketball club sessions to children at local primary schools.
- Cricklewood Millennium Green
Cricklewood Millennium Green will receive funding to repair their iconic wooden train sculptures and benches. Funding will also go so making the Green easier to maintain by installing a water tap and purchasing new gardening tools.
- Friends of Mapledown
Mapledown School will receive funding to offer 100 of their students with severe learning difficulties and disabilities opportunities to go on school trips to enrich learning and enhance their pupil’s life experiences.
- FUSE Youth Project
FUSE Youth Project will receive funding to support their summer programme of youth worker led activities and free meals for young people in West Hendon. This prevents holiday hunger, while making sure these young people can have fun taking part in sports, crafts, and offsite trips.
- iheart
iheart will receive funding to provide a 10-week programme to support 30 students of a local school to develop mental health resilience. This will give young people emotional skills to overcome setbacks and improve confidence.
- Kisharon
Kisharon will receive funding to offer accredited gardening sessions to adults with learning disabilities, with a guaranteed internship at the end of the programme. These sessions will take place in the space behind Childs Hill Library, and they plan to share resources with All Saints School’s Gardening Club.
- Phoenix Canoe Club
Phoenix Canoe Club, based at the Welsh Harp Reservoir, will receive funding to purchase a new Bell Boat (a 10-seater, twin hull canoe). This will bolster their fleet so they will be able to offer school canoe sessions to a full class of students and set up a Bell Boat Regatta for local Primary Schools.
- Railway Terraces Residents Association
The Railway Terraces Residents Association runs a small book exchange from their allotment and playground area. With funding they will install an accessible shed to enhance the book exchange and also offer a toy exchange and kits to get kids interested in growing and green activities.
- Wessex Gardens Primary School
Wessex Gardens Primary School, a local school, will receive funding to install 3 items of outdoor gym equipment to be used by students, visiting children and local families who cannot afford gym membership. This will offer improved strength and fitness opportunities to local people.
The Brent Cross Town Community Fund, which is being delivered by independent organisation Semble, offered grants of up to £5,000 for projects located in, and just outside, the wards of Golders Green, Childs Hill and West Hendon. Entries were judged on their ability to reflect the ambition for the new town centre to be an inclusive, people-first place which strives to be healthy and sustainable. In total, the fund received 30 applications and saw an extremely high standard of projects. Through the 2019 and 2020 Brent Cross Town Community Fund, over 9,200 local people have directly benefitted, and it is estimated that the 2021 projects will directly benefit over 2,440 people.
Nick Searl, Partner of Argent Related, commented: “It is always really encouraging for us to see that the Brent Cross Town Community Fund is popular with local people and projects. We enjoyed reviewing all the brilliant submissions and were pleased that, despite the challenging time that has persisted, there continue to be many vital groups and initiatives supporting the area. This year we wanted to focus on projects that celebrate the togetherness and wellbeing of the community, and so we are pleased to have been able to provide funding for ten initiatives that encourage people to come together and support them in being active.”
Councillor Daniel Thomas, Leader of the Council said: “From canoeing and women’s basketball to book exchanges and murals, it’s great to see the wide range of projects and initiatives that will benefit from the third round of the Brent Cross Town Community Fund which supports activities that will improve the health and wellbeing of the local community.”
Clive Castillo, director and head coach of Brent Bulls CIC, added: “We’re truly grateful for the Brent Cross Town Community Fund and looking forward to delivering our Brent Bulls Community project! Our project is focusing on increasing #AllGirls in sport and the overall grassroots participation. Basketball is so important because it keeps people active, helps with socialising and building communities, it’s fun and easily accessible – all you need is a basketball and a hoop! We are excited as our grassroots program will help encourage the development and participation in the sport at a young age – the sport teaches teamwork, communication and improving confidence which are valuable soft skills for the future generations.”