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Community projects will get more than £3.5m in funds

Beccles Lido Beccles Lido at night. There is blue bunting across the pool and several people are swimming.Beccles Lido
Beccles Lido is one of the projects receiving government funding

Eight community projects in the East of England will benefit from more than £3.5m of funding.

The money is part of the government's Plan for Change initiative.

Sports clubs and community projects across Buckinghamshire, Essex, Suffolk and Northamptonshire are among 85 benefactors in the UK.

Jenifer Cameron, chief executive of Action4Youth, a charity in Milton Keynes that has been given £300,000 for renovations, said it would allow the charity to "support many more young people in the future".

The government said the money will help grow local economies, boost "national renewal" and restore community pride by bringing people together.

Action4Youth has been given £300,000 to refurbish the George Amey Centre in Milton Keynes, to be used as a centre for outdoor education and to support the charity's work to tackle knife and gang crime.

Ms Cameron, from the charity said: "We are so grateful to have funding which will enable us to complete our renovation project and to ensure the future of the outdoor centre which benefits 15,000 children and young people each year."

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said: "These projects represent what is so special about communities across the UK – bringing people of all ages together, providing vital support and giving them a sense of purpose and belonging."

Projects receiving funding:

  • Action4Youth, in Milton Keynes, will receive £300,000 to refurbish the George Amey Centre for outdoor education and to extend other charity work
  • Age Concern, in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, will get £960,000 to purchase the Haven Centre to allow its continued use as a community centre
  • Beccles Lido, in Suffolk, will get £330,000 for repairs
  • Bourne End Junior Sports & Recreational Club Limited, in Buckinghamshire, will receive £191,196 to renovate and refurbish its sports club
  • Glamis Hall for All, in Northamptonshire, will get £300,000 to refurbish the hall which is used as a community centre
  • Suffolk County Football Association will get £446,600 for Barnards Meadow Football Centre in Lowestoft for a new 3G pitch, floodlights and refurbished pavilion
  • Wellingborough Town Council in Northamptonshire will receive £836,697 for Swanspool Pavilion and Gardens. It will be used to restore the gardens, resurface tennis courts, reinstate putting golf and bring the pavilion back into community use.
  • Wingrave and Rowsham Parish Council in Buckinghamshire will get £210,000 for Wingrave recreation ground to rebuild the pavilion and bowls clubhouse

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