Cllr Myles Scrancher, East Suffolk Conservative ward member for Carlton Colville has been working with Bloodmoor Hill Community Centre for the past 12 months to help the volunteers turn the building into a success for the local community. Since taking over the stewardship of the building in 2023 the Robert Mayes Charity has been working hard to turn the previously disused and problematic building into an asset for the local community. The building is now host to a uniform bank and the “larder on the hill” food bank as well as hosting various groups and businesses that now rent the building.
Since being elected in 2023 Cllr Scrancher, using money from his enabling communities’ budget, has allocated £5,788.84 to the community centre to assist with funding Wi-Fi installation in the building, helping to make it an attractive building for businesses to rent and to enable it to be self-funding. His contribution also funded branded school uniforms for families in the community who cannot afford them and at the end of October additional funding helped to set up a youth café, which will now be happening every month going forwards.
Russell Lord the Project Co-ordinator for Robert Mayes Charity said: “We received a grant from our local councillor Scrancher to have Internet and Wi-Fi access installed at the beginning of 2024. We are able to offer free Wi-Fi to our Larder on the Hill and school Uniform bank families. This has been particularly useful when supporting them with other agencies. Naturally the teenagers who have attended the Youth Café are also delighted to have free Wi-Fi.
A bonus of this has meant that the community centre is a more attractive venue. We have found that several local businesses have used the venue for meetings and training. These meetings, have by enlarge, covered the cost of the monthly Internet bill.’
Kate Mills - Children, Youth, and Families Minister said: "The new Youth Café is a safe, inviting place aimed at young people from Year 9 - college. We have been able to get started with this project thanks to an enabling community funding bid, enabling us to buy equipment, refreshments and stock a Tuck shop.
The hope is to reach out to the young people in the local community. Within the surrounding area the anti-social behaviour levels are high - we have had the building broken into several times. Inviting the youth in and giving them ownership over the club will lead to a mutual respect and hopefully, slow the rate of crime in the area. We are excited to see how this project grows in the coming months and are very grateful for the start-up funds."
East Suffolk Council’s Enabling Community Budgets (ECBs) support activities delivered by community, voluntary and social enterprise organisations. The budget comes from New Homes Bonus (funding generated through new houses built in the district) for 2024/2025.
It provides each of the 55 elected members of East Suffolk Council a £7,500 Enabling Communities Budget to spend on community projects or to develop new projects in their ward to tackle local need.
Photo attached shows: Russell Lord from Robert Mayes Charity, Cllr Myles Scrancher, Ward member of Carlton Colville and Kate Mills, Children, Youth, and Families Minister (credit East Suffolk Conservatives).
