Transforming Local Infrastructure Fund Successes

Seventy-two partnerships made up of local voluntary sector support groups have received funds from the Office for Civil Society’s £30m Transforming Local Infrastructure fund, set up to help infrastructure bodies work together more closely. Five regions in the South East were successful in obtaining funding, 3 of these were in Berkshire: Slough, Reading and West Berkshire.

The fund, which was announced in the government’s Giving White Paper in May and is being administered by the Big Fund, the non-lottery funding operation of the Big Lottery Fund, was set up to support "transformational" activities, such as pooling resources, sharing services and forming better links with local businesses. It will not fund existing work.

 An Office for Civil Society spokeswoman said the successful projects included plans to make it easier for people to volunteer, to help social entrepreneurs, to help charities take over community assets and to increase support from the private sector.

In a statement, civil society minister Nick Hurd said: "This fund is not designed to support business as usual. It is about making things better for the front line. It’s about supporting organisations with innovative business plans who want to play their part in modernising the landscape of local infrastructure."

To read the full list of successful applicants please click here.