We were in it to win it

LOTTERY grant chiefs have been criticised in the past for giving out money to unsuitable causes and neglecting worthy charities. But a group of residents in Clarksfield have shown how anyone can apply for a grant as they set about getting improvements for their neighbourhood that Oldham Council wouldn’t fund. Reporter Richard Hooton looks at their success and the criteria for scooping a windfall.

YOU have to be in it to win it, so the saying goes.

One group of residents made sure they were in with a chance of receiving lottery money to transform a dilapidated alleyway by carefully going through the grant process.

Fed-up neighbours Ted Witczak, Frank Walsh, Susan Brierley and Peter Ramsbottom had spent 20 years trying to get Oldham Council to carry out repairs to the throughway linking Prince Edward Avenue and Hollin Hall Street.

Its poor state meant residents couldn’t access their garages, the bottom of cars were scraping along the surface and it was overgrown, dirty and unsafe for people to use.

Council chiefs said as the alleyway was unadopted it was not their responsibility to maintain it. But alleyways in neighbouring areas had all been smartened up.

The residents formed a committee to apply for a Big Lottery Fund Awards For All grant and were delighted to receive £10,000. They used the money to pay Middleton Surfacing to Tarmac the alleyway.

Mr Witczak also organised a petition to get residents backing for alleygates to be installed to make the area more secure after 40 burglaries.

Some lottery grants have previously provoked a storm of criticism. There was an outcry after £360,000 was given to a pressure group for sex workers which campaigns to legalise prostitution and brothels. Another £414,000 went to a travellers group and £550,000 to help fund a scheme where heroin addicts can take drugs under medical supervision.

The Big Lottery Fund actually replaced the Community Fund after such controversies and hands out around half of all the “good cause” cash raised by the National Lottery, amounting to around £600 million a year.

There have been many times when lottery money has gone to groups in Oldham for community-boosting initiatives.

Friends of Dunwood Park is close to securing a £1million revamp of the Shaw beauty spot. They applied to the Lottery Heritage Fund and the Big Lottery Fund for the cash.

And the Clarksfield residents have shown that with a bit of organisation and patience, anyone with a suitable cause can get lottery money.

Money from the Big Lottery Fund is intended for community groups and to projects that improve health, education and the environment. It cannot award grants to profit-making companies, statutory bodies or individuals — but other groups, parish or town councils, schools and health bodies can apply. The group needs a bank account that requires at least two unrelated people to sign each cheque or withdrawal, and a governing body with at least three unrelated members.

Grants of between £300 and £10,000 can be awarded for people to take part in art, sport, heritage and community activities and projects that promote education, the environment and health in the local community.

The money can be spent on anything from venue hire, volunteer expenses and transport costs to buying equipment, computers and refurbishments.

A Big Lottery Fund spokesman said: “It’s quite easy to get money through Awards For All. If it’s a good project and meets basic criteria then they will get the money.”

Groups are told within eight weeks if they have been successful.

One of the key aspects to securing a grant is having the backing of the community and the Clarksfield group found this also helped bring people together. They handed out questionnaires and were delighted with the response.

Susan Brierley said: “We put letters out telling everyone what was going on and the feedback we got was absolutely brilliant — although it was all quite negative about the alleyway.

“We sent a questionnaire asking what do you think we should do next to around 40 houses and got 30 responses which was a brilliant response and everyone was behind the project and delighted to see what’s happened.

“We were hoping it would promote more of a community spirit and it certainly did while the work was going on. We know nearly everyone now.

“The alleyway was a mess. Before the gates were put in people used it as a running track through to the cemetery. It was always a bit of a tip but it’s so much better now.”

“I’m sure in the summer we will use the space more where we would not have before. Everyone used to stay in their own garden but I’m sure in the summer it will be used for something to bring people together.”

The residents have already held a celebration for a job well done.

And they are keen to help other people considering taking the same route. They felt misled when the problems with the alleyway first started and were led to believe they would have to use certain groups to do the work, rather than being free to choose a private company themselves.

Mr Witczak said: “It was all new to us. There will be other people in the borough thinking if they can do it, we can do it too. I don’t want them going down the wrong path so I’m happy to offer my services to anyone who wants to take it on board and give people advice and point them in the right direction.”

Mr Witczak can be contacted on 07800-900 921.