Billericay Area Committee

Conservatives deliver investment in Billericay

A number community funding applications have been approved

On Tuesday, February 11th, I attended my first meeting of the Billericay Area Committee. The six new Area Committees were established by the Labour Administration back in May, covering the five towns of the Borough. 

Each Area Committee has been allocated a budget from two 'pots' - the 'Believe in Basildon Fund' (BIBF), aimed at supporting local projects and initiatives, and the 'Community Priority Fund' (CPF), which can be awarded to community groups to deliver activity or purchase equipment. The role of the Area Committees is to deliver services to support residents and communities and each committee is made up of the ward members in that area.

The main benefit of the Billericay Area Committee is that all nine members of the Committee are Conservatives and it is the only council committee on which the Conservatives enjoy a majority. It means, in effect, that it is literally the only avenue we have, as an Opposition party, to actually deliver anything for our residents. 

At the meeting, I and my Conservative colleagues approved a number of funding applications from community groups, which we hope will benefit the residents of Billericay. 

The first was an investment of £1,500 from the BIBF to deliver 'The Crunch' service in Billericay. We voted for this somewhat through gritted teeth because, although we all support the return of the Crunch, which is widely used and appreciated by our residents, paying for the service through the Area Committees seems an opaque way of funding what ought to be a key service of the Council, as part of the Waste and Recycling Service. The other five Area Committees have also been approached to fund the Crunch in their patches, as something of a fait accompli by the Administration. Notwithstanding these hackles, the funding was approved and the next Crunch is set to take place on March 29th. Location in Billericay to be confirmed. 

A £9,800 investment from BIBF was also awarded to the Human Kind Café, a registered charity in Billericay High Street. The funding is to build and install a Community Allotment in their outdoor space at the rear of the café, transforming the paved courtyard into a community allotment. Their goal is to create a garden area where members of the local community can grow vegetables and herbs and create a sustainable support for the café kitchen. Community groups will tend to the garden, providing opportunities to improve health and wellbeing. The garden will be run with dementia support and with sensory areas to allow them to run workshops and groups outside. 

The volunteers that run Human Kind have already made a big impact in our community, reducing social isolation and providing vulnerable people with access to support and services they might otherwise have struggled to obtain, so I look forward to seeing how this project enhances the café's offer. 

Also from the BIBF, we allocated £5,000 to support the work of the Billericay Community Pastors (formerly known as Street Pastors). The work of the Community Pastors is, I suspect, by now well known to all of us. These Christian volunteers from our local churches have been providing non-judgemental care and support to people using Billericay High Street now for many years and have rightly won the respect of everyone in our community. 

As many of you will know, the Community Pastors recently set up their Community Hub in the High Street but suffered a bad fire last year. The Area Committee are making this contribution to ensure the Pastors can deliver their community hub project.

Next, we awarded £2,775 from the CPF to FC Redwing, who are a thriving youth football club based at Barleylands. They have been running for 20 years and currently run 28 youth teams for boys and girls, including three grassroots initiatives that see over 80 children participate every Saturday. They will use this funding to purchase equipment to enhance the experience for the children and young people. 

The single largest award of the night was £14,000 from BIBF to the Friends of Lake Meadows. Residents will be aware of the sad theft of the iconic 'The Child in the Park' statute from Lake Meadows in September last year. This is the second time the statue has been stolen and, although it was previously recovered a few months after it was taken, it is looking increasingly unlikely we shall see the statue returned. As it happens, I took my 9-month-old son to the park for the first time the weekend before the meeting and saw the empty plinth, standing bare as a sad reminder of the loss of a much-loved piece of community art. 

'The Child in the Park' was installed back in 2001 as part of the Billericay Early Years Forum Millennium Project, as a gift of the children of today to the children of tomorrow and there is a strong feeling that something, at any rate, ought to replace it. The statue was extremely popular, particularly with children, and it is hoped that the children of the town may once again be involved in helping decide what should replace it. 

Obviously, this funding has been allocated with a caveat that considerable though will have to now go into what may constitute a suitable replacement. Crucially, the Committee were clear that whatever replaces it should add value but 'be of no value' to potential thieves. We look forward to working constructively with the Friends to look for an innovative solution to find a fitting and lasting new piece of community art. 

Another £6,000 from BIBF was allocated to provide some new planters in Billericay High Street, to help further enhance the Conservation Area. 

Finally, we awarded £2,238 to the Chelmsford Arts & Cultural Festival to deliver 1.5-hour Creative Calm Community Workshops in Billericay. These will be delivered at the Human Kind Café and will benefit those who are otherwise socially, financially, physically or mentally restricted from accessing art workshops. I have always felt that creative activities are extremely beneficial, particularly to those who are struggling in our community and should not be restricting to those who can afford to attend them. It will be great to see local artists given the opportunity to deliver these sessions to residents in our town.

Hopefully, these are all investments that will benefit a large number of local residents in Billericay. There is still some funding available, so if any community groups have a project or a funding requirement, please get in touch and we can see if you may be eligible to apply for a grant from the Billericay Area Committee.

andrew.schrader@members.basildon.gov.uk