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26/03/2010
Rt Hon Rosie Winterton MP at Abbey Reach Estate Community House
The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton, MP for Doncaster Central and Minister for Yorkshire & the Humber, has today visited two community projects in the region to see how the local environment can be used to bring communities together and help give the nation’s young people the skills and confidence needed for employment.
Hosted by environmental regeneration charity Groundwork, the minister first visited a community-led project to ‘design out crime’ and transform a disused golf course in Sandall Park, Wheatley, and then a scheme to provide young people with land maintenance experience on a community gardening initiative in Maltby.
Ms Winterton met members of ‘The Friends of Sandall Park’ - a small community group based in Doncaster. The group successfully secured over £20K from Groundwork’s Community Spaces programme – an open grants scheme funded by the Big Lottery Fund and managed by Groundwork UK - and have managed to reduce anti-social behaviour locally by creating an ‘outdoor gym’ for the whole community to enjoy.
The Minister then went on to meet the residents of Mortimer Road, Maltby, who are working together on a gardening scheme backed by Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council and South Yorkshire Housing Association to improve the appearance of their estate and give residents a sense of pride in where they live.
A ‘Green Team’ – a group of local young people participating in the Groundwork/National Housing Federation (NHF) national employment programme - has helped residents to plant 13 front gardens. Funded through the Government’s Future Jobs Fund, the Groundwork/NHF programme helps young people break the vicious ‘no work = no experience’ circle.
Nicholas Mosley, 22, from Rotherham, has a future jobs fund placement with Groundwork/NHF, doing gardening and land maintenance. He said: "I’m loving this. It’s brilliant. It’s much, much better than being on the social, especially when, like me, you’ve got a family."
Michael Quinn, 22, from Rotherham added: "It’s given me some good experience and working in a team really improves your confidence. I wouldn’t mind doing this for a proper job – it’s outdoors and it’s different every day."
The Rt Hon Rosie Winterton, MP, said: "I have been inspired by what I have seen today on my visit to two Groundwork projects. These clearly demonstrate what some money plus, more importantly, commitment, time and energy of local people, can achieve in turning round former eyesores into vibrant green spaces for the enjoyment of local residents.
"The work done has reinforced a great sense of local pride in these areas and I am delighted that some of the greening work at Maltby has been undertaken by youngsters recruited through the Government's Future Jobs Fund scheme".
Janet Johnson, Executive Director for Groundwork Dearne Valley, said:
"Most of the 'Future Jobs Fund' Green Team have never had a job before, and this is giving them confidence and skills to go on to build a future for themselves, by working on improving public places for the people who live there – this is work which would not otherwise be happening."
Local resident, Wayne Evans commented:
"I think it’s absolutely fantastic, It makes the area a much, much better place to live."
