Government plans to cut the amount of funding available from the Landfill Communities Fund will mean less cash for community projects, and Alex Cunningham has warned that they need to think again and put communities before big business.
Stockton North’s Labour Member of Parliament has written to the Government because he knows how local organisations have benefitted, with the SITA Trust’s latest contribution resulting in an £18,000 grant to Billingham Synthonia Cricket Club to renovate the clubhouse and changing facilities.
The LCF is aimed at enabling operators of landfill sites to contribute funding to carry out local projects in communities impacted by landfill sites. These projects are designed to compensate communities affected for the inevitable impact on their surrounding area, with the underlying aim of reducing landfill waste and promoting more environmentally friendly methods of waste management.
SITA Trust is one of the largest grant-making organisations that distributes LCF funding throughout the UK and, having invested almost £50,000 within Stockton North in recent times, continues to make a positive difference for local organisations.
Alex said:
“In hard times such as these, it is crucial that we don’t overlook or neglect the all-important community projects that are vital to the areas and people they serve.
“I was therefore delighted to hear that projects across the constituency are continuing to receive crucial grant funding to achieve their goals.
“Without this type of support, these important community projects would simply not be able to go ahead. I know that the changing rooms at the Cricket Club risked becoming unusable if funding was not found to replace the damaged roof and refurbish the facilities, and this would have had a significant impact on local people of all ages.
“However, the Government’s decision, in Budget 2014, to reduce the value of the LCF by almost 10% to fund the fight on “waste crime” risks future funding to such projects, and I have written to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury to seek reassurances that similar reductions to the LCF will not be made in future spending decisions.”
