Stoke And Stoughton Funded For Sustainable Projects Courtesy Of Travel SMART

Published on: 24 Nov, 2013
Updated on: 24 Nov, 2013

Everyone was a winner at the latest Travel SMART event to decide who would receive grants for green travel initiatives in Stoke and Stoughton.

Cllr Pauline Searle (second left) with Meeting Point’s Elizabeth Clark and pupils from Weyfield and Christ’s College. Their bid for £15,000 towards a community minibus was successful.

Held at St Peter’s Shared Church in Bellfields on Saturday afternoon (November 23), about 50 people among those who attended used Travel SMART’s electronic voting pads to cast their votes for the projects they liked the best.

There were 10 groups biding for a share of a total of £115,oo available in this round of Surrey County Council grants – and it all worked out perfectly in so much that they were all successful.

From left: Travel Smart’s Becky Willson, Cllr Pauline Searle, Nikki King and community safety warden Garry Jones. The Bellfields Greenspace Project gets £6,850.

The Bellfields Greenspace Project will be able to continue its improvements to the Fir Tree Road community garden area, working with local colleges offering students the chance to help design and construct the path. It received £6,850.

£15,000 will be going to a joint project between Christ’s College, Weyfield Primary Academy and Bellfields group Meeting Point towards a shared minibus. It will be used to help children attend school, better access to extracurricular activities and enable vulnerable adults to take part in community activities.

Also, Christ’s College will be receiving £10,500 for it to provide a secured cycle shed for up to 40 bikes for its growing sixth-form.

A joint venture between Employability and the Guildford Bike Project will get £14,880 to provide a route into work for up to eight disabled people, plus training and other support.

Furniturelink gets the £15,000 it bid for.

Furniturelink, based in Woodlands Road, turns unwanted furniture into saleable items at affordable prices. It needs funding to create more volunteer opportunities so the project can expand to meet demand. It received £15,000 for this.

Community safety warden Andy Coumbe receives £7,860 for cycle safety equipment that will be given to young people.

Bike locks, lights and high visability safety equipment, to the tune of £7,860, can now be bought for a project being set up by Guildford Borough Council’s community safety wardens in Stoughton and Stoke, The items will be given away free and the wardens will also be visiting schools to encourage children to cycle.

The wardens also received £3,400 for 4,000 reflective snapbands to give to local children to use as they walk, cycle and play in the community. The wardens will also give advice on road safety to reinforce safe messages.

The Guildford Job Club has £15,000 to see it relaunch its Guildford Job Pub project by relocating to the Wooden Bridge pub. The money will go towards paying for three staff to develop the club’s personal support service.

Eco Rewards, an initiative by Surrey Chambers of Commerce, gets £15,000 worth of funding. The eco rewards that people will be able to accumulate by choosing more ‘green’ and sustainable ways to travel will then be redeemable for offers, discounts and cashback rewards at more than 400 retailers.

A cycle training project being developed by Weyfield Primary Academy is set to get the go-ahead with £3,160 funding. There will be training for nine- to 11-year-olds at the school. And those who take part will also be offered free cycle helmets and high visibility jackets.

The Surrey Fringe barbershop singers entertain at the Travel SMART event held at St Peter’s Shared Church in Bellfields.

The enjoyable event was compered by Cllr Pauline Searle. There was free refreshments and face painting, with entertainment by the Surrey Fringe barbershop singers, who use Bellfields Youth and Community Centre to practise their fine vocal talents.

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