£30,000 for creative projects in Gosport

By Chief Correspondent Rob Thomas

OVER the next three years, £30,000 in grants is being made available to fund creative projects in Gosport.

In May, The Globe reported that Gosport Cultural Consortium had obtained a £100,000 grant from Historic England’s £6 million High Streets Heritage Action Zones’ Cultural Programme – which operates in partnership with Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Now the GCC has announced the first tranche of £10,000 is available for projects anywhere around the town – with up to a maximum grant of £1,500 per project – but which must be completed by June 30, 2022.

The consortium is led by Hampshire Cultural Trust and has representatives from Bridgemary School, Gosport Heritage Open Days, Gosport Discovery Centre, Gosport Voluntary Action, Gosport U3A, and the Gosport Diving Museum.

Schemes must have, ‘a public outcome’

Rebekah Jeffery, Head of Cultural Hubs at Hampshire Cultural Trust, said: “The idea behind the scheme is to help bring footfall to Gosport, along with offering local residents a programme of great performances, exhibitions, workshops and public art that can be enjoyed by all.

“Each grant application will be assessed by a community panel, chaired by a GCC representative, and will be judged against criteria such as how well the project is planned to deliver against the timeframe set, the value for money it offers attendees and appetite for the project.”

The application criteria stress the need for the schemes to have, “a public outcome, with the community able to be involved either in the development of the project or the enjoyment of the end outcome”.

Applications for a grant can be from registered charities, Community Interest Companies, and voluntary groups which are constituted and have bank accounts, and from individuals who can, “demonstrate good approaches for working with the public as part of their project.”

The closing date for this first round of the scheme is Sunday, September 5, and further details plus the online application form are available at: gosporthaz.org.uk/gcc/creative-grants

There will be two more rounds of funding in subsequent years, with each having a total of £10,000 available for creative projects.

Image (above): Reproduced with permission from Hampshire Cultural Trust