Eight community projects have been awarded a total of almost £112,000 from the South Copeland GDF Community Partnership.
The partnership has up to £1 million to give to community initiatives in the defined search areas for an underground radioactive waste facility, known as a geological disposal facility, or GDF.
South Copeland is one of three search areas in Cumbria; Mid Copeland and Allerdale are two further communities able to access the funding.
The grants can be used to fund projects, schemes or initiatives which benefit the search area that provide economic opportunities, enhance the natural and built environment, or improve community wellbeing.
The latest projects to receive funding in South Copeland are:
- Howgill Family Centre – an additional £58,078 (£72,963 was received in 2022), funding for a three-year project, Good Enough Start, to provide specialised support to parents and carers of children in their first 1,000 days of life and ensure more effective parent-infant bonding and child development.
- The Hill Village Hall – £25,000, to replace the roof. This will enable the venue to continue as a community hub, hosting activities and social groups for many years to come.
- St John’s Waberthwaite Parochial Church Council – an additional £18,000 (£37,240 was received in 2022), to provide funding for a project which will create a resource centre out of an old building, once used as a laundry and bakehouse. The venue will be used by the community, including school groups, for meetings and workshops.
- Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian and Archaeological Society – £3,627, to fund a local excavation searching for evidence of and activities relating to a medieval settlement.
- parkrun Ltd – £4,000, to establish a new parkrun at Muncaster Castle. It is expected that the inaugural event will take place in early August.
- Waberthwaite Cumberland & Westmorland Wrestling Club – £2,500, to fund new wrestling mats for the club, based at Waberthwaite Village Hall. The club attracts a number of individuals from the farming community and it also aims to address social isolation.
- Bootle Parish Council – £775, to fund a box and professional installation for a donated defibrillator in the old red telephone box at Monk Moors owned by the parish council. The defibrillator was previously donated for the benefit of residents of Monk Moors, an isolated community.
South Copeland GDF Community Partnership chair, Ged McGrath, said: “For me, being able to see some of the projects being completed from the Community Investment Funding is particularly rewarding as many of these projects would have struggled to find funding without South Copeland being a part of the GDF conversation.
While the parts of the search area located within the Lake District National Park and proposed Southern Boundary Extension are excluded from consideration in the search for a site to host a GDF, these areas can still apply for funding, and projects in the national park are encouraged to apply.
Deep geology beyond the coast is currently being considered for siting the underground elements of a GDF. This means a surface facility on, or near, the coast would provide access to a disposal area deep in rock beyond the coast.
A GDF requires both a suitable site and a willing community. It would also require consent from regulators including the Office for Nuclear Regulation and the Environment Agency. Additionally, if a suitable site is found in South Copeland – a process which could take 10-15 years – a Test of Public Support would give people in the potential host community a direct say over whether or not the project goes ahead.
The South Copeland GDF Community Partnership is keen to hear from groups with projects that could be eligible for Community Investment Funding.
