Lancashire Projects To Benefit From Cash Seized From Criminals

Vulnerable people, victims of abuse and children from deprived areas are among those who will benefit from money that has been seized from criminals in Lancashire.

Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw today announced the 17 successful applicants to get a share of almost £500,000 that has been recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Individual grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 will be used to support a wide range of projects across the county including sports activities for young people, women's shelters for victims of domestic violence, and support for victims of sexual abuse.

Funding will go to groups across Lancashire whose projects met the criteria for the scheme and will help support the Commissioner's priorities of defending frontline policing, protecting vulnerable people, tackling crime and reoffending, and supporting victims.

The decision was announced at Burnley FC's Turf Moor stadium – home of one of the successful applicants, Burnley FC in the Community – today.

Mr Grunshaw said: "I am delighted to have had the chance to meet some of the people who will be putting this money to good use right across Lancashire.

"We thought long and hard about the best way to use this money, which was taken from criminals, and we decided to reinvest some of it into the community. We looked for organisations that are helping to keep Lancashire safe and supporting the priorities set out in my Police and Crime Plan.

"I was amazed by the quality of the submissions we received and I'm delighted so many excellent projects will benefit from this money.

"We were overwhelmed by the amount of interest in this scheme and we will be working closely with many of those who were unsuccessful this time to see if we can find other ways to help get their projects off the ground."

Applications worth £3.6m were received and each application was judged against set criteria and those that met the required standard were awarded grants ranging from £5,000 to £100,000.

A full list of where the money is going is below. The successful applicants who were present at today's event were:

• Burnley FC in the Community - £20,000 to support diversionary activities to support young people in some of the most deprived areas of Lancashire. - Newground - £19,455 to buy furniture and IT equipment for the new Shadsworth Community Hub to assist with delivering an education programme aimed at adults to help identify the warning signs of extremism and right-wing radicalisation in children. Other programmes tackle issues including: bullying, hate crime and anti-social behaviour - Fylde Coast Women's Aid - £17,922 to Fylde Coast Women's Aid to help refurbish accommodation and improve security at three women's refuges in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre. - Enlighten - £100,000 to support an early intervention project in Blackpool aimed at young people who have been victims of sexual abuse and are showing early signs of sexual aggression or are at risk of victimisation. The funding will provide psychiatric help and access to mental health wellbeing services. - Skelmersdale Action For Youth – £22,000 to support the 'Let's Get Active' project in connection with Wigan Athletic FC, delivering sports activities for young people. - Preston Community Safety Partnership - £57,000 to extend and improve the CCTV network in Preston City Centre.

Mr Grunshaw added: "There is a fantastic range of work being done in our communities and the different organisations who will benefit from this money is a great example of that. These grants mean they will be able to continue their excellent work, expand into new parts of Lancashire or even set up new schemes to broaden the services on offer in our county.

"I am pleased this money, taken from criminals in Lancashire, will be used to support victims of crime, protect vulnerable people, tackle crime and re-offending and defend frontline policing.

"I look forward to meeting with some of these groups to hear more about the exciting work they are doing in the county."

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