The wish from children and young people for a new Youth Club and Scout Group in Monk Fryston and Hillam has taken a major step forward thanks to a £75,000 grant awarded to Monk Fryston and Hillam Community Association towards their £140,000 Youth Provision and Community Centre redevelopment project.

The cash boost has been given by WREN, a not for profit business which awards grants to community, environmental and heritage projects across the UK from funds donated by FCC Environmental to the Landfill Communities Fund.

Ray Newton, Community Association Chair, commented,

“It is fantastic to obtain Wren’s support for our project and village community. It’s amazing that WREN can make funds like this available to communities and we are delighted our project was selected. This simply would not have been possible without the support of the Western Community Engagement Forum (CEF). The faith they have shown us by awarding a £20,000 grant to try and attract this type of additional funding has been fulfilled. We hope to make more announcements about further funding and the project in the next few weeks and are looking forward to a very exciting 12 months.”

Cllr Andy Pound, Chair of the Western CEF, added,

“This is a great step forward for the project. We would also like to thank WREN for their support. We are delighted to see our Western CEF strategy working. The Community Association have currently quadrupled the value of the grant we gave them, and most importantly will be meeting the needs of their community”

Peter Cox, Managing Director of WREN, said,

“WREN is committed to funding projects that make a real difference to local communities, children and families. The Monk Fryston and Hillam Youth Provision and Community Centre Redevelopment Project will provide a fantastic new environment for local people to use, particularly the new Youth Clubs and Scout Groups. We’re delighted to support the Monk Fryston and Hillam Community Association and look forward to seeing the youth groups get started and the Community Centre being redeveloped over the coming months”.