Birkenhead Beechwood estate benefits from £1m lottery windfall

Dec 12 2012 by Helen Hunt, Birkenhead News

BIRKENHEAD’S Beechwood estate has scooped a £1m lottery windfall which will be placed directly in the hands of residents.

The funding is coming from the Big Lottery Fund and is being given to Beechwood to be spent on anything the community in that area sees as being a priority.

That could be anything from day centres, clubs for young people or an event to attract other projects or initiatives to the area.

A group called the Local Trust is administering the finances and is going out into Beechwood to find out what the area needs.

The funding which is said to be “at least £1m” is being granted through a £200m Big Lottery Fund investment with the aim of helping 150 urban and rural communities across Britain make their areas even better places to live and work in.

Wirral Council Deputy Leader Cllr Ann McLachlan welcomed the news, saying: “This really is a positive announcement and I am pleased that Beechwood has been selected as a Big Local area.

“This investment, to be spent over a ten-year period, will go straight into the hands of residents. How this £1 million is used will be entirely up to the people of Beechwood so they will need to come together and identify what projects, services and issues matter to them.

“The money could go towards a variety of good causes, such as tackling local issues or providing more locally-based activities or initiatives in the community.”

The Local Trust, a charitable organisation, has allocated a representative to Beechwood who will be responsible for helping to deliver the initiative by training residents and offering them support in identifying priorities and developing a plan for Beechwood.

A spokesman for the Big Lottery Fund said money was given to areas which had missed out on previous funding rounds.

Through the Big Lottery Fund 150 areas will receive at least £1m lottery funding to spend over the next 10 years.

Visit www.localtrust.org.uk for details on how you can get involved in spending Beechwood’s lottery windfall.