We should fight unfair cuts where we can. And if we lose, it should spur us on to getting even better facilities and services for our neighbourhoods through our own common endeavour. Looks at new takes on old approaches.

Fighting

Gorse Hill residents have successfully made the case for saving the crossing patrol on Chester Road. That’s brilliant news and congratulations to all involved! 

Glimmers of Hope

Work goes on to try to save something out of Lostock’s Library and Youth Club together with Gorse Hill Studios. either through drawing in outside support or income generation from services provided there. And at the same time, a community enterprise is emerging from the council’s disposal of Stretford Public Hall. So, here and there are glimmers of hope that not everything is lost.

Raising the Funds

The search is on for alternative funding models based largely outside local authority funding. 

Grant Providers

Much of the focus is on grant giving organisations such as the Heritage Lottery Fund, Big Lottery, Sports England; or local grant providers such as Trafford Housing Trust. However, it’s a competitive market and it’s unlikely that all projects will be able to get the funds they need from grant providers.

Advantages of Grant Funding

• Some Big Chunks of Money
• Additional Non Financial support from funder
• Small number of lead members required to write bid
• Bid process brings focus on outcomes

Criticisms

• Focus on what’s bad about a neighbourhood rather than what’s good.
• Less focus on widespread support or local accountability
• The Funders’ agenda becomes as important as the Local Agenda 

Cutting out the Council
…..and going for it yourselves!

The new kid on the block for local funding is crowdsourcing. It’s best when you’re appealing for a fixed cost rather than ongoing. It’s come of age with the internet, though it could be argued that its roots go much further back. In fact many of Greater Manchester’s parks were financed in this way and even New York’s Statue of Liberty.

Even closer to home is our own Stretford Public Hall who too are seeking much needed donations to move to the next stage to in reopening the hall as exciting vibrant resource. They need and deserve everyone’s support. Please make a donation here.

Advantages

• Inclusive, gives ownership to the whole community
• Tests whether community really want project
• Helps attract matched funding

Criticisms

• Huge publicity and promotion input
• Favours populist projects as against perhaps a worthy minority need
• Uncertainty prior to target being reached

Conclusion

There will be some who say we shouldn’t be getting involved, it’s for the state to provide these services; we’re doing the Tory dirty work for them. I disagree. In fact I’d say some of this goes back to the roots of socialism and the Friendly Societies, Trades Unions and Guilds from which emerged the Labour Party. There’s real opportunities for today’s Trade Unions as well as businesses to get themselves involved.

The limited services the council provided never served more than a fraction of the people they should have. There are plenty of dangerous crossings that have never seen a school crossing patrol and two youth centres were never going to satisfy the whole of Stretford. As for libraries, they really could be on the street corner if enough people want them to be.

Think about you want in your neighbourhood, and make it happen!

image: planning the barn https://chatgpt.com/s/m_6898d281bf84819180f81158caeadbc7