WestCountry Projects

ITV Westcountry transmits to people living in towns and villages throughout Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, and parts of Dorset and Somerset.

Over the past five years of the People’s Millions competition some great projects have won funding in our region, including community gardens, a skate park, a community transport project and many more besides.

Community Action Through Sport (CATS)

The project will tackle issues of anti-social behaviour and crime through the use of sports and community based activities. In the CATS scheme, young people who carry out activities that help and support the community are given awards. As part of their award they are given vouchers for activities such as swimming, windurfing and mountain biking. The group wants to build on its success by extending it to other areas. To do this they need to employ somebody to run and manage the scheme on a full time basis. The number of beneficiaries is estimated at 7,000.

Converstion of Chapel to Theatre

The project will convert and refurbish a local chapel building into a permanent theatre for the local community. This will involve the replacement of the existing temporary facilities with a permanent stage and orchestra pit, and also the replacement of an irreparable roof slope, which will make the building watertight. The number of beneficiaries is estimated at 180.

ExeAccess

The project will provide accessible transport for disabled users in the Exeter area. The group will provide a taxi service with a vehicle that can be accessed by wheelchairs and scooters. Drivers will be trained and employed by the group and the project will be run in conjunction with the Taxicard service which enables disabled users to reclaim half of their taxi fares. There will be an estimated 400 beneficiaries.

Disabled Sailing Adventure

The project will design and build a specially adapted thirty foot vessel to provide sailing activities to disabled and disadvantaged people within the community. The group will offer training to disabled users to achieve recognised sailing qualifications and provide opportunities for local people to become involved in a volunteering capacity. There will be an estimated 100 beneficiaries.

Dawlish Action For Youth Skate Park

The project will create a skate park for young people aged 11 to 19 in Dawlish. Local skaters are currently using unsuitable open spaces in the town causing danger to themselves and annoyance to other residents. The skate park will provide a safe and supervised area for them to use. The project will benefit 200 people directly and also benefit the entire community indirectly.