Nine local organisations are celebrating being awarded grants through the new Rookery South Community Trust Fund.

The Fund, launched in December 2021, will benefit communities within ten Parishes located in close proximity to the Rookery South Energy Recovery Facility near Stewartby, in Bedfordshire.

The successful projects that will share £99,465 from the first funding round are:

• St Andrew’s Parish Church Ampthill, Chapter House Community Upgrade Project – £15,047
• Marston Moreteyne Parish Council, Marston Moreteyne Community Centre Photovoltaic Project – £20,000
• Houghton Conquest Parish Council, Pavilion Kitchen and Patio Improvement Project – £7,612
• Ampthill Town Band, Post-COVID Recovery Project – £10,000
• Millbrook Parish Meeting, Alfred Everitt Playing Field New Play Equipment – £9,930
• Autism Bedfordshire, Social Groups for Autistic Adults in Ampthill and Marston Moreteyne – £3,599
• Marston Moreteyne Playing Field Committee, Upgrade Facility – £8,690
• Ampthill Town Cricket Club, Pavilion Extension – £19,587
• Marston Moreteyne VC School, The Haven (Forest End Site) sensory area, play area and nurture space – £5,000

On receiving the good news, Sharna Raine, Adult Services Director at Autism Bedfordshire said: “We are enormously grateful for the generous support from Rookery South Community Trust Fund which will greatly enhance our services supporting autistic adults in Ampthill and Marston Moreteyne.”

The Rookery South Community Trust Fund is being administered by GrantScape, the national grant-making charity with its head office in Salford, Bedfordshire. Matt Young, GrantScape’s CEO, said: “We were really pleased to see such a good range of high quality applications received to the first round of this new Fund. We hope that sharing this news will encourage more groups to apply to the next and future rounds.”

The Fund supports a range of activities delivering community benefits with themes in:

• Sustainable waste management projects within the community
• Community energy generation projects
• Educational initiatives that relate to waste management or energy generation initiatives
• Other projects which are considered to promote the well-being of the community within the areas of benefit

There are two application rounds each year for organisations to apply to, and the next closing date is
7 September 2022.

All projects must be located in, and be for the direct benefit of the communities within, the parishes of Ampthill, Brogborough, Cranfield, Houghton Conquest, Lidlington, Maulden, Marston Moreteyne, Millbrook, Stewartby or Wootton.

The full Fund criteria and further details of how you can apply are available here.