£1.4m of grants for South Tyneside community projects expected to get go-ahead

Next week (Wednesday, April 29) town hall chiefs are expected to approve this year’s (2020/21) budgets for South Tyneside Council’s (STC) Community Area Forums (CAFs).

The council runs five committees covering the whole of the borough, which have access to a combined total of £1,404,000 to hand out to communities through three separate schemes.

According to the council, the CAFs give families and communities a ‘voice on issues affecting their local neighbourhood’, with cash available to back approved initiatives.

Proposals can be put to the CAFs, which cover East Shields and Whitburn; Hebburn; Jarrow and Boldon; West Shields, Cleadon & East Boldon and the Riverside area of South Shields.

Money is then available through:

The Housing Capital Scheme, worth, £750,000, to improve council-owned housing and housing estates The Environmental Capital Scheme, worth £500,000, to provide ‘local solutions to local needs’ The Social Scheme, worth £154,000, which funds initiatives such as Christmas parties, outings or new equipment for community groups.

Money is allocated to the five CAFs on the basis of factors such as population, deprivation and the number of council-owned properties.

The Jarrow CAF is in line for the most, £365,085, while Hebburn will receive the least on this basis, £237,377.

This year’s version of the scheme is due to be approved at Wednesday’s (April 29) meeting of the borough council’s ruling cabinet, the first ever STC meeting to be held virtually, due to social distancing restrictions.

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