Blow for Watton youth drop-in centre
A YOUTH drop-in centre in Watton has been dealt another blow after being told it is not eligible to try again for a grant from the funding pot it had hoped would secure its future.
A YOUTH drop-in centre in Watton has been dealt another blow after being told it is not eligible to try again for a grant from the funding pot it had hoped would secure its future.
In February the team behind Project Rainbow, which runs The Surge at the former doctors' surgery in St Giles Road, was told it had been unsuccessful in securing millions of pounds of Myplace funding.
But the project pinned its hopes on a second round of grants which would have given the organisation the �350,000 needed to buy the Surge, which it currently rents, and develop other youth provision in the town.
However, Project Rainbow has now been told that the criteria to apply for funding from Myplace have been altered and it is no longer eligible to apply for the money.
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In a statement the Myplace fund, which distributes government money through the lottery the Big Lottery, explained the changes.
It said: 'In contrast to earlier funding rounds, and in the light of the limited funding available, eligibility for round two will be restricted to projects located in the one third most deprived areas of England.
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'Of those areas that have already had a previous Myplace award, only those with large youth populations will be eligible to put forward additional projects.'
According to an 'indicative list' issued by Myplace in Norfolk, only Great Yarmouth would be eligible to apply for funding under the new criteria.
Since opening last December The Surge has proved popular with youngsters and regularly attracts more than 40 young people to its open nights on Monday and Thursday.
Project Rainbow secretary Julian Horn said: 'We are extremely disappointed that we have been excluded from applying because of the tight criteria they have applied.
'We are now considering our options and are pressing ahead to generate the best quality bid that we can for other funders.
'We are actively exploring other funding sources, however they do look limited at the moment due to the present funding situation and the cost of the Olympics in 2012.'
The developer which owns The Surge has said it is happy to continue leasing it to Project Rainbow as long as the organisation continues to seek the funding.
