Eleven community projects are being awarded grants totalling nearly £327,000 in the second round of the Police and Crime Commissioner’s £1 million Innovation Fund.

Forty-seven applications requesting grants totalling nearly £1.5 million were submitted for this second funding round.

The applications were carefully considered by the Commissioner, Angus Macpherson, and an advisory panel, made up of Wiltshire Police Chief Constable Pat Geenty, Wiltshire Council Leader Jane Scott, Swindon Borough Council Leader David Renard and Rosemary Macdonald from The Community Foundation for Wiltshire and Swindon.

Wiltshire Wildlife Trust Food Champions was awarded the highest amount of £91,958 for horticultural community payback training.

Friends of Biss Meadows County Park in Trowbridge received £1,547 for young people to create a mural.

Warminster Street Pastors was awarded £600 to help train new Street Pastors; pay for training, buy  uniforms and running costs.

Sixth Sense Theatre for Young People received £17,500 for a preventative theatre teaching project working with schools in Wiltshire and Swindon.
 

Youth Adventure Trust, a youth development charity working withvulnerable young people across Wiltshire and Swindon, received £34,870 for a development programme for disadvantaged children.

Circles South West was awarded £78,739 for training community volunteers to support sex offenders, returning from prison to the community.

C-Change Empowerment received £28,410 for empowerment sessions at Swindon Foyer.

SEQOL, a Swindon-based community interest company, was awarded £29,500 for an autism awareness project.

Swindon 105.5 received £11,840 to support a meadow garden project in Penhill, work with young people and develop community broadcasting.

Swindon Borough Council – East Locality was awarded £11,000 to create a youth cafe.

Threshold Housing Link, a charity that provides supported accommodation with a resettlement programme and complementary services for single homeless people in Swindon, received £20,865 to coordinate activities and life skills programme for residents to enable them to start training or employment.

Mr Macpherson said: “The Innovation Fund is a way for me to empower communities. It is about commissioning projects on the ground which help achieve my six main priorities, particularly tackling anti-social behaviour and crime, supporting vulnerable people and reducing re-offending."

One more funding round will take place in March 2014 with £330,000 allocated. The deadline for application is 3 March 2014.

For more information about the Innovation Fund, including a downloadable leaflet and an application form, visit www.wiltshire-pcc.gov.uk