£60k Award Kick Starts Guildford Institute’s Redesign Funding

Published on: 17 Apr, 2012
Updated on: 18 Apr, 2012

The Guildford Institute has been awarded £60,000 by a waste and recycling management company, SITA UK, that will go towards building redesign plans.

The Institute which provides talks, courses and workshops on a variety of topics for the people of Guildford is planning to reconfigure the interior of its Grade II listed building, in Ward Street, to improve access to the building and ensure its long-term viability as a community asset in the centre of the town.

A Guildford Institute member demonstrates the obstacle presented by stairs within the 19th century Institute building

The improvements will include installation of a new lift and main stairwell, as well as disabled toilet facilities. The SITA Trust, which distributes funds contributed by the recycling and resource management company SITA UK, has granted the Institute £60,000 towards the cost of the lift installation.

The Trust supports community and environmental improvement projects through the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF). Since 1997, when SITA Trust began its funding programmes, it has supported more than 2,000 projects with a combined value of more than £72m.

The funding scheme is for community and environmental projects close to landfill sites that enables landfill operators to contribute a percentage of their landfill tax liability (£64 per tonne for active waste and £2.50 per tonne for inactive waste) to not-for-profit environmental bodies for allocation to eligible projects. Locally, SITA UK manage the large landfill site at Albury.

Rosemary Melling, Chairman of the Institute welcomed SITA Trust’s grant, saying: “This award is just what we need to get our fundraising off the ground. Approval from a respected funder like SITA Trust tells the community this is a good and viable project, worthy of support”.

When she heard the news of the award, Anne Milton, MP for Guildford, and long-term supporter of the Guildford Institute, said: “It is such good news for the people of Guildford that the Institute is planning to redesign its beautiful building to make it so much more accessible to the many people who want to use it, now and in the future. This award from SITA Trust is the first big step towards raising the £250,000 needed to complete this exciting scheme. I hope others will come forward to help the Institute reach its target. The Guildford Institute is one of our local treasures”.

Jools Granville of SITA Trust added: “We were delighted to be able to support this project and we hope that our funding offer is the first of many to this fantastic community facility. SITA Trust provides grants that enhance community leisure amenities which engage and benefit a wide range of users. The Guildford Institute, with its rounded events programme and hard working volunteers certainly fits this bill.”

Members of the public are welcome to go and see details of the building redesign plans at the Institute which is open Monday to Friday, 9-5, or can view them at www.guildford-institute.org.uk .