Lottery grant will lift club

“We’ve been given a huge lottery grant to improve our fishery. It was so easy I don’t know why so many other clubs haven’t done the same.”
The words of Brian Billings, secretary for Audley Parish Angling Club, a group which has recently been awarded thousands of pounds after applying for a free grant.
The Staffordshire group got their hands on the much-needed cash just three months after applying to the Big Lottery Fund, a scheme which provides millions of pounds to community-based projects across the UK.
They plan to spend the money, £10,000 in all, on improving access for disabled anglers, as well as building a number of wheelchair- friendly pegs at their Bates Wood fishery in Newcastle-Under-Lyme. Now Brian is encouraging other clubs and community projects to follow suit.
“The money will be a huge help and we are encouraging other clubs to do the same,” said Brian. “We will be able to do work which we otherwise couldn’t afford, considering we are a club with just 140 members. We run a lot of junior events here but many less abled locals are denied the facility because of poor access.
“Thanks to this grant the facilities will become available for all to use and share.”
Another club who successfully applied to the scheme are Blackburn-based Southwest Angling & Sports Association. They were awarded just under £50,000 last year to turn their once-derelict pond into a community-based angling haven.
Club committee member Gary Hennigan is encouraging other clubs to follow their lead and apply.
“It’s fairly simple to apply online as long as you have a good plan of what you want to achieve and in what time frame you are in with a chance of being awarded some cash” he said.
Both clubs are open for new members – search for them on Facebook for more details.