Funding Boost For Two Wrexham Projects

Two community and environmental projects in Wrexham are to benefit from a financial boost after being awarded with grants to help fund their work.

An environmental family trail and a historical church landmark in Wrexham are to benefit from over £24,000 of funding after being awarded grants by The Veolia Environmental Trust.

A grant of £23,000 has been awarded to the Church House Gresford Management Group to improve and secure the exterior of the building in Gresford.

Following internal refurbishment five years ago, work is now needed on the Grade II listed building’s windows, roof and rainwater goods. There are also plans for extra storage to be put into place.

Church House was built in 1725 and was initially used as a village school. At present the building is a venue for numerous community groups to meet, including community choirs, birthday parties; dancing classes and church groups.

Speaking about the funding, Lesley Griffiths AM said: Church House is a fantastic facility for the local residents and I have used the building on several occasions to hold my surgeries.

“The management group should be commended for securing the funding as the grant will no doubt make a big difference to the community.

The Family Trail in Plas Power Wood, Bersham has also benefited from the grant, receiving £11,538 to fund work to make the trail available all year round. Currently, around 300m of the path is made muddy and inaccessible every year by bad weather.

Plas Power, which Plas Power is situated between Bersham and Coedpoeth consists of a number of indoor and outdoor activities, including climbing walls and archery.

The grants were awarded earlier this month at the Veolia Environmental Trust Quarterly Board meeting. Overall 53 grants totalling over £1.4m were awarded to several community and environmental projects across the UK.

Executive Director of The Veolia Environmental Trust, Paul Taylor, said: “These grants rounds off a very busy 2014 for us, with us awarding a total of £6.8m to over 230 community and environmental projects across the UK. These improvements will benefit the many people who visit the woods and attend events at Church House and we look forward to seeing work start in 2015.”