The latest round of Community Pots grant funding has just concluded and seven community groups and social enterprises across North Lancashire have been recommended to each receive a share of the £20,000 Community Pots 2025 grant fund.
The fund gives grants to local projects that seek to regenerate the environment and support community wellbeing within one of the following themes:
- Repair & reuse: Reusing, repurposing and repairing materials currently going to waste (e.g. textiles, electronics, packaging, surplus food, etc)
- Shared resources & community space: Sharing resources (e.g. tools, materials, skills, etc) or repurposing unused space for community benefit
- Communications, arts & festivals: Inspiring people to use and buy things more sustainably and to produce less waste
- Food-related projects: Growing, cooking and eating food that’s local, seasonal and sustainably produced
In the latest round of funding, organisations responded to these themes by submitting an inspiring range of project ideas, including bringing allotments back to life, a shared tool library, laptop and phone repair workshops, and a youth climate festival.
Recommendations for Community Pots grants are made by a panel made up of people representing different groups across the region. This year’s panel had some challenging decisions to make, as there were many well-deserving applications but only a limited amount of funding to distribute.
Here are the projects that the panel recommended to receive a grant:
1. Lancaster & Morecambe Makers (LAMM): LAMM Tool Library & Material Store (£5,000)
Setting up a shared tool library and scrap materials store to allow more people access to quality tools (and training to use them) and to reduce waste.
2. Escape2Make: E2M Green Group (£2,940)
Summer workshops for 11-18 year olds to explore how to be environmentally conscious within the arts and work with local artists to create a follow-up public exhibition.
3. Lancaster African Initiative Development (LAID): LAID (£3,000)
Run laptop and mobile phone repair workshops to reduce waste and share repair skills.
4. Lune Valley Beekeepers: Lune Valley Beekeepers (£600)
Make a video to raise awareness of the threats from the Yellow-legged Asian Hornet. Get allotments, schools and community groups involved in the annual trapping and monitoring programme.
5. Stanleys Community Centre: Stanleys Grass Roots Allotment (£3,336.78)
Improve the allotment site to increase food production for the local food club and provide a learning hub and area for relaxation activities for the community.
6. Ambleside Road Allotment Association: ‘Food for Thought!’ (£1,823.22)
Improve the allotment site to increase yields and add a beehive to provide more food to distribute to the local community.
7. Mirador Arts: Lancaster Swift City ‘Taking Flight’ (£3,300)
Raise awareness of the plight of swifts by using festival-based art & events. Run workshops to make swift boxes from reclaimed timber and install them in key areas of Lancaster.
If you’re interested in finding out how to apply for the next round of grant funding, you can find out more on the Lancaster District CVS Pots of Possibility web page.
