West Yorkshire Mayor awards record amount of funding to innovative community safety projects

At the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund ceremony Ms Brabin renewed her commitment to creating a safer West Yorkshire by granting a total of £326,032.84 to frontline community safety projects from the five districts – Kirklees, Calderdale, Wakefield, Bradford and Leeds.

The event saw 61 innovative projects run by community groups, charities, and partners - including 16 that are based in Kirklees - receive grants of up to £6,000.

This brings the total amount of funding provided to community safety projects by the Mayor to over £530,000. This is in addition to the £3.8 million already delivered by the scheme to 752 projects since 2014.

Each of these projects address at least one of the cross-cutting themes or priorities within the Mayor’s Police and Crime Plan, including keeping women and girls safe, diversity, equality, and inclusion, and early intervention and prevention.

Speaking at the event earlier this month, Ms Brabin said: “The safety of everybody in West Yorkshire is an absolute priority of mine. My Safer Communities Fund uses money taken from criminals and gives it back to the communities harmed by their activities.

“I am delighted to support so many incredible local safety projects and am looking forward to supporting many more in the future.”

A number of North Kirklees based projects have been supported by the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund, including Dewsbury-based G2M Fitness and Wellbeing Ltd.

G2M has received £4,170 to help support the community by offering women the opportunity to attend self defence classes and workshops twice a week at the gym, for free.

There have been 828 crimes committed already this year in and around Crows Nest Park in Dewsbury, which has been the gym’s driving force to ensure women are able to feel safe in their local spaces.

Stacy Gott, director of G2M Fitness, said: “It’s great to get the support of local funders and be able to run stuff like this, it will make a massive impact within the community - especially around the Dewsbury area.

“To be chosen to receive the funding is an honour because it is great that they can see what we are trying to do, the passion and the impact we want to make in the community.

“The most important part of our project is sustainability, we want people to see what we are trying to achieve.

“It's nothing but a positive for the gym and if we can build women's confidence up, teach them new skills and change people's lifestyle for the better, then we are doing our job.

“We are here to make an impact and a difference.”

Another project which has been awarded cash from the Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is Incubating Arts CIC operating as HATCH, which supports WOVEN –

a celebration of innovation in textiles across Kirklees.

HATCH CIC has been awarded £5,700 which will be used to support its project ‘Growing Colour Together’, which will help bring communities across Kirklees together to build resilience, reduce anti-social behaviour and encourage cohesion.

A spokesperson from HATCH said: “We are delighted to receive funds from the Mayor's Fund.

“This funding will support the WOVEN team to work with the community in Dewsbury in a number of locations that are currently being decided.

“The aim of the project is to support communities in Kirklees to set up their own colour gardens, this simply means growing plants that can be used for natural dyes.

“Growing Colour Together is not just about climate change but about supporting communities, this project will bring people together in their area to learn to grow and nurture plants and then to work with artists to make a new piece of work for their community.

“During lockdown we all became much more aware of the benefits of nature and how we can work together to make our environment a better place.

“Growing together is all about investing time and care into an area, nurturing the plants for the benefit of the community and then working together to make something for the community.

“One school we are working with in Dewsbury is Pentland Junior and Infant School who are keen to open their gates to their local community to grow, make and debate together and make a real difference to people living in the areas.”

Other North Kirklees projects that have been awarded funding include Heckmondwike-based Rainbow Baby Bank, which has received £5,200 to fund more accommodating premises and Birstall-based Training Cave Club which has received £6,000 to help deliver its ‘Better Futures’ project.

The Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund is financed by money from criminal activity that has been recovered by West Yorkshire Police and prosecutors under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

West Yorkshire Police chief constable John Robins said: “I am so pleased to see that this money, which has been confiscated from criminals following action from West Yorkshire Police, has come full circle and is being put to good use in our communities.

“The funding enables these local groups and projects to play a key part in the partnership response to preventing crime, which can be so vital in making a difference to the lives of people in West Yorkshire.”

The Mayor’s Safer Communities Fund allows voluntary, community groups, charities and partners to apply for funding.

For more information, visit https://www.westyorks-ca.gov.uk/policing-and-crime/mayor-s-safer-communities-fund/