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Harborough District Communities News
| Welcome to the first edition of our Communities Newsletter!
The aim of this newsletter from Harborough District Council (HDC) Communities Team is to keep you informed and up to date with community development activities at the council and elsewhere and to share information, resources and success stories between you to support communities, build networks and relationships, and share ideas and good practice. We'll keep you informed about any upcoming events inside and outside the council. In this newsletter |
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We're the new Communities Team here at Harborough District Council, pictured here at the Community Awards, left to right: Katie Fox - Grants Officer Becky Nixon - Community Engagement Officer Becca Powell - Youth Engagement Officer Claire Betts - Grants Officer |
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What we've been doing
Our team's role is to support community engagement and development across the district, working mainly with voluntary and community groups, delivering funding, enabling networking and sharing good practice, providing funding, and developing a Youth Council to amplify the voice of young people.
Since we started back in August, we’ve been busy settling into our new roles, getting out and about across the district to meet with a range of organisations, hosting our own events such as the Parish Liaison meetings and the Community Awards, and attending events like the Market Harborough Building Society Charities Connect event and information days organised by Leicestershire County Council's Local Area Coordinators.
Claire and Katie have been busy working with people on their Community Grant applications, with the first awards being made last month. Becca has been out meeting schools and groups involving young people to set up our first meeting of the Youth Council planned for January 2025.
More information about different aspects of our work is below. |
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Community Awards
We were delighted to get 48 nominations for our first Harborough District Community Awards. Nominations came from the members of groups, the public, volunteers, and staff right across the district, and highlighted the huge range of activities that community groups provide - driving, befriending, sports, social connection, facilities, skills development, fundraising and more. The awards evening was held at Welland Park Academy on 5 December, with nearly 100 attendees. We wished we could give an award to everyone nominated as all the activities highlighted contributed to making Harborough District great, but the panel chose winners and runners up in each category.
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The picture shows Broughton Astley Volunteer Group, winner of the Voluntary and Community Group of the Year receiving their certificate from Councillor Peter Elliott, Chairman of Harborough District Council.
We will be running the Community Awards next year with a wider range of categories - keep an eye on this newsletter and on Harborough District Council's social media for details. |
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Community Grant first awards made
Harborough District Council launched the £1m Community Grant fund this summer, and the first seven grants have now been awarded, with projects including improvements to buildings, outdoor spaces, and a play park, plus a grant to buy a defibrillator. Further projects are being considered at a second grants committee on 17 December.
Community Grant reopens
Community Grant funding is for capital projects across the Harborough District. Capital funding is for projects that create lasting assets, such as improvements to buildings, facilities, or purchasing and installing equipment.
Constituted community organisations, Town and Parish Councils or Meetings are welcome to apply. The current window closes on 9 February 2025. For this round in response to people's questions, there is updated guidance, as well as revised allocations for towns and parishes based on the spending in the first round. We will also be introducing a pro forma for Parish Councils / Meetings to complete alongside their letter or email of support to confirm the amount and funding round that the project should be submitted to.
Talk to us about your application!It would be helpful for us to know what applications are in the pipeline, we can connect you with others if appropriate and give you advice about your project, send us an email.
We have run successful grants surgeries in Lutterworth and Market Harborough, speaking to 20 organisations. Heather Shawley from Voluntary Action LeicesterShire (VAL) joined us in Lutterworth to give more general funding advice and VAL will take referrals from our Market Harborough surgery. We will run these surgeries again later next year, and you can also speak to our grants officers, Claire and Katie, contact communitygrants@harborough.gov.uk.
If you don't have a definite plan we can help you think about some options, and we can also advise Parish Councils / Meetings on consulting with the community to bring forward ideas.
Please note that the council is open until 2pm on Christmas Eve and reopens on 2 January 2025, so if you want a conversation before this, please contact us as soon as possible. Otherwise there is plenty of time in the new year before the closing date to get support. | |
Tell us about your Community Grant project
| Other funding at Harborough District Council
If you make an application for the Community Grant, our grants officers will check to see whether there is any other funding that may be available to you. This may include the grants below, which you can also apply for directly. Section 106
This is funding that is agreed when there is a development of over 10 houses, so there are various amounts and spend by dates depending on where development is in the district. See the list of which areas have funding allocated. Environmental Grant
This is for capital projects that will have a positive effect on the environment. Match funding of 10% is required. The next round opens 3 March 2025 and closes 25 April 2025.
Information about other funders and funding resources is further down this newsletter. |
Youth Council first meeting in JanuaryOur Youth Engagement Officer, Becca Powell, has been busy heading out into the community to meet young people from schools, youth groups and junior parish councils. Becca is tasked with setting up a Harborough District Youth Council and is networking in the district to find out who might like to be a part of it.
The Youth Council will involve 11–18-year-olds who live in the district who want to get involved with their community, learn more about the council, have their voices heard, gain skills and experience, make new friends, and have some fun along the way. It's a really exciting time as the first Youth Council meeting is set to take place at the end of January. |
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This will be a chance for young people who are interested to come along, meet Councillors, hear more about what’s in store, share their thoughts, views and interests on how they would like the Youth Council to be run and to meet other potential young Councillors. They will also have a chance to take part in the consultation around HDC's Corporate Plan to tell the council which aspects of the plan are most important to young people, and what they would like to see happen in the district.
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Community spotlight: sharing your stories
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This section will be sharing successes and good practice across the district to inspire others. If you would like to feature, you can complete this form or contact us on the addresses below.
In this edition we have Mowsley Safari Suppers, and Great Glen Junior Parish Council. |
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Mowsley Safari SuppersAt the Harborough Parish Liaison meeting in September we talked about how parishes engage the community to analyse needs to inform grant applications and their wider work. Zoe Westmoreland, chair of Mowsley Village Hall, talked about their popular Safari Suppers. As there was a lot of interest from other attendees, Claire Betts, Grants Officer chatted to Zoe about how they run them. |
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Can you tell me how this idea came about?
Other villages have similar events and one of our Committee members at the time talked about how good they were and offered to organise one. We did our first one in 2019, which had a small number of participants, but went well. Then Covid happened and the member left, so it was left to me to take the suppers on. We’ve now run successful, well attended suppers annually since 2022. When new people move into the village, it can take some persuasion for them to join, but then they are always glad they do, as they make new friendships and meet so many people. |
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What does the Safari Supper involve?
Myself and Wendy organise the event, which starts about four weeks before the date – we usually hold it in November. People submit forms confirming if they just want to participate or host one or more courses. They must be village residents. On average, there are usually 45-55 participants and a host can have anything from 6-12 people coming to their house.
The night starts with welcome drinks in the Village Hall at 6.15pm where you are handed an envelope telling you which house to go to for your starter. During that course, the host gives you an envelope with the destination for your main course – you will be with different people at the next house. At about 9.30pm, everyone meets back at the Village Hall for pudding, tea and coffee. What is the biggest challenge in organising such an event?
Managing different dietary requirements! At the start, some hosts were reluctant to volunteer as they didn’t feel confident in catering for different diets. We came up with the idea of pre-preparing meals such as gluten-free ones and delivering them to the host just beforehand. Also, whilst all the venues are within walking distance, some participants may need a lift and there are always people happy to do this.
What other events does the Village Hall run to engage the community?
There are so many! We held street parties for all the recent national celebrations such as the Queen’s Jubilee and King’s Coronation. On a more regular basis, there are discos, BBQs, dog shows and rounders on the cricket pitch, film nights, Halloween parties, coffee mornings and even Advent window dressing. This involves a different house unveiling their dressed window at 6pm each night, and villagers gather with mulled wine and mince pies. All the events are very well attended. We are currently looking at introducing a new event in February – a Murder/Mystery evening, which should be fun.
What would you say motivates you and the Committee to arrange all these events? Definitely the feedback that we get, especially for the Safari Suppers. Everyone is so grateful and so many people comment on how much they enjoyed it. So many new friendships have come out of these Suppers. If you are new to the village and you want to feel part of the community spirit, you can’t get a better introduction than those Suppers really.
If anyone would like any tips or information on organising Safari Suppers, they are very welcome to contact Zoe. |
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Great Glen Junior Parish Council
Youth Engagement Officer, Becca Powell, went to visit Great Glen’s Junior Parish Council to hear about the fantastic work they do. Becca spoke to Joanne Adkins, the Great Glen Parish Council Manager to find out all about them. |
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Great Glen Junior Parish Council was established to give the younger members of the community a voice. Inspired by their school’s eco-committee and lessons on ‘giving back,’ local young people wanted to extend their involvement into the wider community.
When Joanne first joined the Great Glen Parish Council, the Junior Council had several members but lacked direction. She asked them, "Why are you here and what do you want to achieve?" This question sparked a meaningful discussion about the council's potential. |
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Joanne introduced herself, explained her role, and then asked each Junior Councillor why they wanted to join and what they hoped to gain. The responses varied, from wanting to engage with the community to aspiring to future roles in similar initiatives, and even campaigning for better school dinners!
From this meeting, Joanne supported the Junior Parish Council to be more organised and professional. The Junior Councillors elected a Chair, followed a formal agenda, and kept minutes, mirroring the adult council's procedures. They were empowered to decide their meeting times and were encouraged to bring ideas for the future of Great Glen, even if they might not always live there in the future.
The Junior Councillors initiated projects like tackling littering, campaigning for a new zebra crossing, and starting a book swap in the library. They also took on a ‘watching brief,’ reporting issues like graffiti, potholes, and damaged public amenities to Joanne. This initiative fostered a supportive community spirit, with parents also getting involved.
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Joanne is particularly proud of the ‘Pitch In’ Litter Campaign. The Junior Councillors named the campaign, designed signs, and distributed them around the village to remind people not to litter. They upgraded litter bins to larger capacities, tackling the issue of full bins. Despite challenges, they also worked on a soft plastics recycling campaign, with one Junior Councillor writing a presentation which really impressed the full council.
A conversation started around different methods of transport and how people in the community enjoy riding their bikes but have nowhere to safely store them, resulting in a new bike shelter which can secure up to eight bikes. |
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The Junior Councillors' ideas are always considered, and if an idea isn’t feasible, they receive an explanation. Joanne presents their ideas to the full council, which allocates part of the budget to support their projects.
Joanne values the learning experience from the Junior Parish Council, emphasising the importance of listening to young people as they are the future of the community. |
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Other funding and resources |
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Funding
This section contains a selection of grants outside HDC that community groups can apply for. |
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Lutterworth Area Community Fund
A wide range of projects can be funded in Lutterworth and parishes surrounding Magna Park. Deadline for the next meetings are 31 December 2024 and 31 March 2025. |
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Market Harborough Building Society (MHBS) Community Fund
This grant is for projects that focus on specific areas of need including poverty and disadvantage, food and fuel poverty, and rural issues and transport; the full list is on their website. Area of benefit includes Market Harborough and Kibworth. Next closing date is 19 January 2025.
Leicestershire and Rutland Community FoundationAs well as managing the MHBS grant above, the Community Foundation also has their Making Local Life Better Fund, next closing date 20 January 2025.
Community Safety fundingTwo opportunities from the Police and Crime Commissioner.
Addressing violence against women and girls - in the new year this funding opportunity will support the roll-out of an educational programme throughout Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland (LLR) to address the attitudes and behaviours that are the root cause of violence against women and girls, focusing on specialised packages on sexual violence awareness for young people aged 10-19. It reopens between 2 - 27 January 2025. Commissioner's Safety Fund - This grants scheme is for community projects that help reduce the risk of crime and abuse and increase public safety. Closes 6 January 2025. |
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Resources and support
Voluntary Action LeicesterShire
We were pleased to have support from Voluntary Action LeicesterShire at our Grants Surgery in Lutterworth - they provide a range of support to groups including organisational development, funding and volunteering support. They also have various email newsletters. You can get in touch via their Helpline.
Lists of funding opportunitiesThe following organisations also provide free funding resources that may be useful to groups: |
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Consultations and requests for info |
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Harborough District Council Corporate Plan consultation - communities and community groups priority |
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The consultation is now open until 20 January 2025 on the priorities in our corporate plan. There are 13 medium term priorities under our four main areas of work: community leadership; health and wellbeing; sustainable environment; and a prosperous economy.
The Parish Liaison meeting will be discussing the corporate plan and how we work together on 13 January 6pm, and the Youth Council will discuss it at its meeting at the end of January.
Responses can also be completed online. |
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Charity - business partnerships in the Harborough District |
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Are you a community group that works in partnership with a business or a business who works in partnership with a community group?
We are planning on doing some work next year to encourage business - community group partnerships to benefit community groups, companies, their staff, and the wider district, and we would love to hear what already works. You can email us at communities@harborough.gov.uk or fill in our case study form to tell us more.
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Find a rewarding career at your local council
We are encouraging people to ‘Make a Difference’ in their communities by embarking on a career with their local council. Harborough District Council and other local councils provide essential services that residents rely on every day, including safeguarding support for adults and children, planning, environmental health and waste management. |
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You can choose from hundreds of roles to find a position that suits you and take the opportunity to help make a difference in your neighbourhood.
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