The aim of the Big Society Fund is to create an environment locally in which it is as easy as possible for communities to do things for themselves. The council recently made clear that the Big Society Fund would continue beyond the current financial year with £1million available from April 2012 onwards.

The 2011/12 fund of £600,000 was created for communities to bid for start-up funding for community projects that would benefit their areas. The large majority in the first two waves of awards was for communities to take on youth projects – with the final result being that no youth centres in Oxfordshire have closed despite the council having to make budget cuts.

Communities have been asked to submit bids with a sustainable business case that demonstrates how a proposed venture would be viable in to the future.

Bids that have been approved are:

• A bid from people in Kidlington for £10,295 to set up evening activities for young people based at Kidlington Forum.
• An £11,000 bid from an organised called New Horizons based in Oxford to engage children aged between nine and 12 in a structured programme of learning activities in Littlemore.
• A £12,000 bid involving parish councils and a community transport organisation to better connect the Watlington, Cuxham, Chalgrove, Garsington, Stadhampton areas, complementing existing bus services
• A £15,600 bid from Dean Court Community Centre to provide new services for young parents and babies by adapting space for more flexible use.

Incredibly popular

Councillor Kieron Mallon, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Policy, said: “It’s a pleasure to be in a position to be considering a third wave of bids to our Big Society Fund.

“Not only has it proved incredibly popular, it has also shown that Oxfordshire people have a dynamic combination of business sense and a get-up-go spirit to shape things in their own communities as they wish them to be.

“The earlier waves of the Big Society Fund were largely centred around youth facilities, with communities taking up the chance to access start-up funding to enable them to run services themselves given that the council’s funding was having to be cut. These bids are based in other areas but are every bit as rooted in the communities themselves and a genuine expression of what is seen as a priority in those localities.

“I look forward to debating the recommendations for approval with my fellow cabinet members at the meeting of the cabinet on February 14.”