St Michael and All Angels Community Church, located in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, has received a £56,100 grant from HS2’s Community & Environment Fund (CEF) to pay for a package of projects aimed at providing improved community facilities for local people. Every week, over 600 people make use of the Church’s facilities including local Pre-school, Acapella, Drama and Yoga groups.
The Church will use the funding to install a new access point and paving to take users directly between the car park and the community hall, making the facilities more accessible for users with disabilities, children and pushchairs. The grant will also allow the Church to build a canopy over the new ramp to keep the weather out and a covered buggy park outside the hall. New emergency doors will also be installed at the rear of the hall to bring the Church in line with modern health and safety standards.
Cathy Elliott, Independent Chair of the HS2 Funds, said:
“St Michael and All Angels Community Church has sat in the heart of the Amersham community for the last century and HS2’s sizeable investment through the Community & Environment Fund will ensure the Church continues to be able to serve local people for decades to come. The grant awarded to the Church will also be instrumental in opening up the facilities to residents from all age groups.”
Alongside wider refurbishments, the 100-year old St Michael and All Angels Church Hall will be retro-fitted with LED lighting and electric water heaters to help the Church reach its zero-carbon goals. Electric vehicle charging points will also be installed on the site for use by visitors.
Part of the grant will also pay to build a community garden, including planters and seating made from recycled plastics. The garden is expected to attract local wildlife and provide a relaxing environment for the public. The recycled planters are also designed to blend into the town of Amersham, which has established similar planters along the High Street.
Alan Jarvis, Spokesperson for St Michael and All Angels Community Church, said:
“We are delighted to have received financial support from HS2 to be able to refurbish and upgrade our Community Hall for the benefit of our users.”
In Buckinghamshire & Oxfordshire, over 60 projects have already successfully received more than £3.6 million pounds of HS2’s CEF & BLEF funding since applications opened in 2017.
Previously funded projects include organisations offering a range of services including employability and tourism support, sports facilities for young people, health and wellbeing activities, heritage facilities and wildlife regeneration projects.
HS2's Community and Business Funds are administered by independent community charity Groundwork. CEF & BLEF funding is available to community groups and organisations for public benefit and business partnerships impacted by the construction of the London to Birmingham and Birmingham to Crewe phases of the HS2 construction project.
You can find the most up-to-date public information on local projects funded through HS2's Community & Environment (CEF) and Business & Local Economy Funds (BLEF) using the HS2 Funds map:
https://hs2funds.org.uk/home/projects-funded-by-hs2-funds/#more-2397
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