TEESDALE Action Partnership has welcomed a new community projects officer as staff returned to the office this month.
It is a reversal of roles for Annalisa Ward, who instead of making funding applications, will be assessing and helping others make bids for cash.
She is also no stranger to the area having grown up here and been at the forefront of The Witham’s development plans in 2006 and later seconded to the Barnard Castle Vision regeneration scheme.
Ms Ward also worked extensively with a business improvement scheme in Teesdale and Bishop Auckland, and more recently on the Bishop Auckland Heritage Action Zone.
Ms Ward took up her post at Teesdale Action Partnership in April and has since been working remotely to support as many as 20 applications for bids for cash from county councillor budgets, as well as 13 bids for about £166,000 in direct funding from the partnership, which is run by the county council.
She said, with match funding, this means a total investment of about £700,000 in Teesdale.
Ms Ward added: “We are on target to have given out £250,000 by the end of March.
Partnership co-ordinator Adam White added that a new stream of funding would be announced in the new year.
He said: “We are quite excited about the town and village money we have to spend. That is £210,000 of which £65,000 has been earmarked for the business scheme.”
Ms Ward said the additional cash would be made available to community groups to make improvements to their area.
However, she noted that bids would need at least 30 per cent match funding to be successful.
Mr White welcomed people and groups to get in touch with their funding applications. He said: “We are back in the office as a team and we will be out and about.”
For more information about how to make a bid email tap@durham.gov.uk or ring 03000 260817. Teesdale Action Partnserhip’s office is at Barnard Castle Library.
