May 2017
20th May 2017
Garvagh Enterprise Trust welcomes £370,000 funding for Garvagh Peoples Forest project
Garvagh Enterprise Trust (GET) has welcomed the award of £370,000 funding for a Garvagh Peoples Forest project. The grant, secured from Big Lottery, People & Communities, with the facilitation and cooperation of Garvagh Development Trust and the Forestry Service will help bring the forest to life for local people. The project involves the development of a programme of work which will utilise the forest as a shared space where connections, friendships, skills and ideas can be nurtured, bringing worth to people and the environment.
Included will be the development of Garvagh’s first Forest School with six local primary schools and three pre-schools as well as other activity related programmes with potential health and educational benefit for the community over the next five years. Activities will take place in the forest, with the administrative base in the Garvagh Community Building and involves the employment of a part-time manager and a full-time development officer by Garvagh Development Trust. The aspiration is that the project will be based in part of the former High School site when GET’s ambitions are realised.
In addition, the Garvagh Enterprise Trust Board is delighted to learn that Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council has advised that it is seeking to secure funding to develop the mountain bike trails in the forest. GET’s ambition is that the next phase of this project might expand into the former High School site such as an enhanced carpark, pumptrack, bike wash and associated facilities.
Recently, Garvagh Enterprise Trust has completed a detailed Feasibility Study for the High School site which incorporates estimated capital and revenue costs which will be submitted to the Education Authority in support of their application for a Community Asset Transfer of the site into community ownership. A vital aspect of the Community Asset Transfer process is the support in principle of Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council and a reaffirmation of this is also being sought.
Commenting on the progress in recent months by Garvagh Enterprise Trust, James Smyth, Chair, said;
“At our public information evening in January, there was an amazing response to our proposed uses for the site from members of the local community, and since then our Board has been working hard to ensure that the project moves forward as rapidly as possible. This process started just after the school closed in 2013 and a lot of energy has gone into developing the plan and bringing it to fruition. The funding secured by Garvagh Development Trust from Big Lottery for Garvagh People’s Forest project is wonderful news which will yield major benefits for the participating schools and for the wider community. Indeed, it is the first real foray into the wider GET vision becoming a reality. The Council’s intention to seek to secure funding for phase one of the bike trails is another step in progress towards achieving the overall vision too.
We plan to present our Feasibility Plan to the Education Authority in the next few weeks and, subject to their feedback, we will then concentrate our efforts in identifying sources of funding in order to enable the realisation of our plans over several phases. This is a long term project but as the already committed support for the Garvagh People’s Forest project demonstrates, there are sources of funding out there, especially for a project such as this with a strong heritage aspect. We are focused on ensuring that to the best of our ability our project can be realised without impacting financially on the Council or local ratepayers.
Garvagh Enterprise Trust Board is keen to continue to keep the people of Garvagh and surrounding area, and the wider community, informed of our continuing progress and we believe that the events in recent months are a strong indication that collectively we are making progress, which will be to the benefit of everyone in the community in the long term,” James concluded.
