Grants for Baldock groups

Five community groups have been awarded a total of £4,692* following a meeting of the Baldock Committee on 14 March. 

Ashwell Pre-school was awarded £850 towards venue hire costs for one academic term to help the group run. Founded in 1975, it is a registered charity currently catering for 23 families. As with many groups, the ongoing pandemic has impacted numbers attending and the group’s ability to fundraise.

Merry Smith, Treasurer and Trustee, said: “Ashwell Pre-school provides not-for-profit early years education to families in the village and surrounding area and we have struggled to raise funds during the pandemic.  This grant will help tremendously towards our ongoing overheads and is very much appreciated!”  

Ashwell Tennis and Sports Club was awarded £980 towards costs for a new clubhouse at the venue which will be used for changing, meetings, equipment storage and simply as an area to keep dry when it is raining. The Club has been providing tennis since 1961 for all ages and currently has 300 members. The total cost of the clubhouse is around £20k and is subject to planning permission.

Melinda Fleming, Treasurer at Ashwell Tennis and Sports Club, said: "We are very grateful to be awarded this grant which will contribute towards our new clubhouse.  The clubhouse will greatly enhance the facilities available at the courts on Ashwell Street which were built in 2011 and enabled our community to play tennis in the village.”

Knights Templar School was awarded £862 to buy gardening and litter picking equipment that will be used by two extra-curricular groups at the school. Due to the pandemic, the school garden has been somewhat neglected for the last two years and needs clearing and replanting. Students also give a great deal to the community and conservation of the area, which has included helping to plant a new woodland at Ivel Springs with Baldock Rotary Club, organising litter picks and nature-focused citizen science projects and supporting work carried out by the Friends of Baldock Green Spaces and Baldock Beats Waste. The new equipment will enable more students to get involved in conservation initiatives and community projects.

Nightingale Residents’ Association was awarded £1,000 towards costs for repair and maintenance works at Nightingale Park including the remarking of the basketball court, which is well used by young people in the area, and repair works to the bench in the community garden area which has been vandalised. The Park is a well-used facility located off Weston Way in Baldock. The Residents’ Association is also working with settle on a larger project to replace one of the basketball posts and to install fencing to stop balls from hitting park users in the conservation area.

Annie, coordinator of the Nightingale Park Wildlife Garden, on behalf of the Nightingale Residents' Association, said: “We are delighted to receive funding which will enable us to repair damage caused by vandalism and restore our community garden to its usual beautiful self. Also to begin making repairs to our popular basketball court for young people to use and enjoy – it’s a really positive start to a year in which we hope to make many improvements to keep Nightingale Park a happy and welcoming space to be.”

Nova Wellness CIC (Community Interest Company) was awarded £1,000 towards running group wellbeing therapy events for 20 carers based in Baldock. Nova Wellness provides holistic therapies and treatments to improve people’s well-being. Two, one-hour sessions will help carers who look after a member of their family, to have quality time to themselves, recharge their batteries and support them in their role as primary carers. The sessions will include guided relaxation and insightful therapy demonstrations, tasters, and short treatments, for example acupuncture, sound bowls and relaxing shoulder massage.

Agata Kisicka from Nova Wellness said: “We are very grateful to Baldock councillors for awarding us this grant for therapeutic group sessions for unpaid carers in the area. Unpaid carers provide a huge service to the community and save the  NHS millions of pounds every year, but often don't get a chance to take time to relax themselves. They will have an opportunity to unwind and to experience various wellbeing therapies aimed to reduce stress and anxiety.  Please visit the Nova Wellness website for an updated calendar of wellbeing events.” 

Ian Couper, Resources Service Director, said: "The council is pleased to help fund this diverse range of groups, covering a wealth of different community services and activities for local people of all ages – from looking after our little ones to providing some much deserved TLC for carers, local conservation, tennis and basketball, to name a few.”

More information: Community grants

*subject to completion of the necessary formalities