We have agreed to provide a loan of £25,000 to Platform Thirty1 (opens in a new window) that will see an additional £300,000 being invested in the District.

The loan will allow Platform Thirty1 to manage a funding award of £249,999 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for their Home Truths project, which is an extension of the Greater Creative programme they are already carrying out in Blackwell Parish.

Our Executive agreed the loan through their Economic Loan Fund (ELF) which provides small and medium sized businesses the option of taking out a loan to help businesses and local areas flourish.

Cabinet Member for Growth, Councillor John Ritchie said, “What Platform Thirty 1 have been doing in Blackwell Parish has been excellent and we had no hesitation in supporting this work through our Economic Loan Fund. We are keen to support our local businesses and communities as much as we can, and this project enables us to do just that.”

The Home Truths project will include a suite of innovative activities designed to unlock, capture, curate and celebrate local heritage in such a way that will bring generations together, develop community leaders and enhance the local environment.

This project aims to provide an ex-industrial working-class community with rich, locally owned heritage resources to mirror their rich, industrial heritage past, and have the opportunity to develop their skills and voices as they work with professionals to co-create projects that are meaningful to them.

Councillor Ritchie added, “The Home Truths project aligns perfectly with our ambitions to inspire local communities to improve their own lives, that of their communities and the places they live. It’s important that we remember our past and we believe by providing this loan to enable the project to go-ahead it will help cement the areas heritage that will be remembered by generations to come.”