New consoles, controllers and games equipment are on the cards for Longmeadow Tenants and Residents Association in Trowbridge after it received a £3,000 grant from the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Fund.

Longmeadow Tenants and Residents Association holds a drop-in session every Friday from 3.30-5.10pm for secondary school children, and a computer and games club every Saturday from 9.30am- noon. Both sessions, held at Longfield Community Centre, are free and provide refreshments.

James McDonald is chairman of the association, which has been running since 2006 and relies on grants and fundraising.

“I am chuffed to bits,” he said. “It is really good for the club and allows us to replace equipment and buy new stuff.”

These include a PlayStation 4 with games, a 14-inch television, controllers, replacing old snooker cues and table tennis bats, craft equipment, and card and jewellery making equipment.

“We need more controllers to maximise the number of people who can play,” added Mr McDonald.

“Some people on the estate don’t have consoles and it is quite a luxury.

“With the club here they are not going out on the streets causing problems. It keeps anti-social behaviour down.

“We had 94 people last Saturday morning. We know there is a need for it. Wiltshire Council is cutting services, but community needs are growing.

“It is primarily set up for people on the estate but 30-40 per cent of our users don’t live on the estate. There is nothing for them on their estates.”

The Police and Crime Commissioner’s Fund is raised through the sale of unclaimed lost property and makes grants twice a year.

The fund is designed to help local groups address crime and anti-social behaviour, and improve personal and community security. Seven local charities across Wiltshire and Swindon have each been awarded grants of up to £3,000.

POLICE and Crime Commissioner Fund grants have also gone to:

 

  • Waste Not Want Not and KFR, two furniture recycling charities who between them cover the whole of north, west and central Wiltshire, providing affordable household goods for those on low incomes and training, with work opportunities for their volunteers 
  •  Swan Advocacy Network, for a project working with the four women’s refuges in Wiltshire 
  •  Life Education Centre, which works with children aged three to 11 across Wiltshire, educating them about drugs and alcohol and building a healthy relationship with 

the police 

  • l Relate Mid-Wilts, based in Trowbridge, for a project 

reducing the impact of crime on the emotional health of young people and children, who are often forgotten in the aftermath of violent crime
l West Swindon Family Centre for Hand in Hand project for women with young children who have experienced domestic violence.