18 community projects share £30,000

PLP Small Grants Fund will introduce local young people to working in tourism

The Pool of London Partnership's Small Grants Fund in association with PricewaterhouseCoopers has been running for nine years. This year 18 small-scale projects have just been granted up to £2000 each to run a wide variety of projects for the benefit of communities within the Pool of London's wider area which stretches from the core riverside district into Bermondsey and Rotherhithe in Southwark and Shadwell and Wapping in Tower Hamlets.

This year's beneficiaries include Tabard Gardens TMC – on an estate with little green space and planting this project will involve children and young people in planting bulbs around homes and blocks on Tabard Estate to make the area look nicer and encourage wildlife back into the area.

The Beormund Community Centre will build on the 'Bermondsey Memories' project with weekly craft and local history classes to involve residents in enhancing their understanding of local history, group discussions and craft sessions to make calendars and greeting cards depicting local history.

The popular October Plenty and Twelfth Night festivals on Bankside run by the Lions part theatre company will also receive backing from the scheme.

Gainsford Street's Bermondsey Community Nursery will receive a grant to improve the outdoor area for the delivery of the under 5 curriculum including sensory garden, seating, planting, decorating and signage.

Southwark Mysteries will reprise its series of healthy historical walks thanks to PLP funding, and the Old Operating Theatre is planning a project which will promote health education through an entertaining and informative programme looking at how public health changes have increased longevity in the area over time.

Another long-established project to benefit from further funding is the Southwark Heritage Association's Young Pilgrims project, which will train 75 young people in local history and give them an introduction to the tourism industry through a theoretical training course followed by work experience as Ambassadors of the Borough.

"The applications provided insight into some of the really creative activities initiated by local community groups. It is work which is often done on a shoestring – but has enormous benefits. For PwC, this match funding is our way of targeting grants towards small projects which really make a difference in the area," commented Anne Wolfe of Southwark-based PricewaterhouseCoopers.

For more information on the PLP Small Grants Fund, including eligibility of projects and applicants, visit the website. The next round of Small Grants funding will open in November 2005 for projects to be delivered April 2006-March 2007. Details and application forms will be available on the PLP website in November.

The Small Grants Fund is match-funded by PricewaterhouseCoopers. The PLP is part-funded by the London Development Agency.