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The council is providing grants from its £300,000 funding pot to empower community groups and initiatives to bring their impactful ideas to life.

Building on the resounding success of last year's Neighbourhood Grant programme, the council is once again providing grants from its £300,000 funding pot to empower community groups and initiatives to bring their impactful ideas to life.

The funding – which is managed by the council and available on an annual basis – is generated from a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) that developers pay on new housing developments in the borough. Its purpose is to support local projects that address the impact of new development and ensure local people benefit from sustainable growth in the borough.

The 'Big Watford Conversation', a survey to give local people the chance to share their views and experiences of the town, as well as their thoughts and ideas about Watford’s future has been launched.

Whether it's the town’s 17 green flag parks and other green spaces, local jobs and employment opportunities, or the availability of good quality housing, the council is keen to understand what matters most to residents. By taking part in the 'Big Watford Conversation,' people can actively contribute to shaping the future of their town.

To say ‘thank you’ for taking part, the council is offering five £30 Watford Gift Vouchers as part of a prize draw. Residents who wish to be entered into the draw just need to give their contact details at the end of the survey, with winners selected randomly. The survey deadline is 25 August.

Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “As Mayor, I am committed to making our town a vibrant and successful place to live, work, visit, and run a business. This can only be done by listening to residents and working together to make changes. That is why we are launching the ‘Big Watford Conversation’.”

“To be a successful town in the decades to come, we need to make decisions now so that we can create a town that future generations of residents and business are proud to call home. Your voice matters, and I encourage you to complete this questionnaire and share your thoughts before 25 August.”

Deputy Mayor of Watford and Portfolio Holder for Community, Councillor Aga Dychton, said: “Your voice, your town, your future! Engage in the 'Big Watford Conversation' and feedback your experiences, opinions, and suggestions on topics like green spaces, thriving job opportunities, or quality housing, to support the council's efforts to enhance Watford. Your perspective matters and every piece of insight is important for the future of our town.”

We really appreciated the great response to Neighbourhood Grant, and thought you might be interested in another consultation that we’re running at the moment.

Watford Borough Council is currently in a consultation period for our Climate Change & Ecological Emergency Strategy. This is the draft version of the document that will guide climate policy in Watford for the next seven years up to 2030.

For anyone with any thoughts about how to tackle climate change in Watford, this is a great opportunity to see what we’re planning and also have your say. We’re really hoping to get as many responses as possible, and any feedback that we get will be carefully considered in the creation of the final document early next year.

Would you be able to help out and distribute the consultation link to your staff, or anyone else you think might be interested, via any channels that you have available? It would be much appreciated by us at the council and obviously a great help in formulating an effective and responsible climate policy.

Thank you!

Thank you to everyone that participated in the programme, whether you were an organisation that submitted a bid or a resident that voted to show support for a project. Applicants will be contacted by the Neighbourhood Grant team in the next few days. We are still working through all the ideas that were submitted on the ideas wall, and will be responding to all of the contributions in the new year. 

Sixteen schemes that benefit the local community will receive funding following a decision by Watford Borough Council’s Cabinet this week (28 November)

£150,000 of the town’s Neighbourhood Grant funding pot was awarded to local groups, including schools, charities and sports clubs, to support initiatives that will make a real difference across the town.

The funding – which is managed by the council and available on an annual basis – is generated from a Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) that developers pay on new housing developments in the borough. Its purpose is to support local projects that address the impact of new development and ensure local people benefit from sustainable growth in the borough.

To ensure grassroots involvement by people in their local area, grant allocations were influenced through a voting poll to show public support for the projects. There were over 2,000 votes and successful applicants were shortlisted based on meeting the requirements of CIL regulations and the council’s agreed Neighbourhood Grant priorities: These include:

• Sport and wellbeing - 3G artificial grass pitch at Everett Rovers FC, fully enclosed nets at Watford Town Cricket Club (both £20,000), defibrillator at Glen Rovers GAA (£2,340), creation of community artwork by Cathartic C.I.C (£8,773) and a get active programme at Veterans Support Group Watford & District (£2,000)
• Green spaces and sustainability - Biodiversity garden at Cherry Tree School (£4,500), school allotment at Beechfield School (£5,000), New Hope memorial garden at St Marys Church (£3,111) and interpretive signs within Cassiobury Park nature reserve (£1,822)
• Community spaces - Improvements to Holywell Community Centre, including the kitchen, main hall and entrance facilities, as well as Meriden Community Centre car park (both £20,000), which includes fixing potholes and painting white lines.
• Supporting local facilities and infrastructure – CCTV at Victoria Passage (£5,000), investment for better toilet and wash facilities at Watford Workshop (£15,000), general improvements to the Pump House Theatre, including better disability access (£19,383) and Random Café (£7,923) to improve accessibility, add a patio, and install solar panels.

Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor with successful applicants including Glen Rovers, Pump House Theatre, Everett Rovers and Friends of Cassiobury Park 

Elected Mayor of Watford, Peter Taylor, said: “It’s great to see so many local organisations have taken advantage of the grants available. The funding is supporting projects that will make a real difference to the lives of people in our communities. It has also been brilliant to see the wide range of proposals from our diverse community, helping people get more actively involved in their neighbourhoods.”

Cllr Aga Dychton, Deputy Mayor and Portfolio Holder for Community, said: “Watford’s Neighbourhood Grant is just one way to help communities feel engaged and included in the future development of their neighbourhood, street, road, park or community centre. As the town continues to grow, it’s important we create communities with the infrastructure needed for local residents.”

Thank you all for participating in this year’s Neighbourhood Grant initiative.

We received 35 applications, and are still in the process of shortlisting the 16 that were put forward to the public to show support.

We will be announcing which projects will be awarded funding in early December, once they have been assessed against the following criteria.

• Does the project meet the CIL regulations
• Does the project address one or more of the identified neighbourhood priorities
• Does the project benefit the local or wider community in the borough and is this evidenced?
• The project should be deliverable and capable of being started within the year ahead.
• Is the project a one-off scheme, which does not require any additional revenue funding in its delivery or its operation (or identifies how additional revenue may be met)?
• Does the project have evidence of local community support?
• Does the bid offer value for money?
• Projects in areas that have experienced development will be prioritised for Neighbourhood Grant spend

We received a number of applications for community programmes that support young people. The funding of community programmes was outside of our Neighbourhood Grant’s criteria this year, however, Hertfordshire County Council are accepting applications for the Informal Youth Activities.

Would you like to find out more about the Neighbourhood Grant and chat to a member of our team?

Head down to Watford's Market Late on 10th June 2022 between 6.30pm and 7.30pm! You'll find us on the Mezzanine Level where you can take a break from the festivities to meet with a member of our team.