'A great success' - More than £450,000 awarded to projects in Boston area in final round of Government-backed scheme

The sum – £457,728 in total – has been allocated to more than a dozen causes through the Pride in Place Impact Fund.

The Government’s Pride in Place Impact Fund has been targeted at areas ‘in need’, with the aim of ‘building strong, resilient, prosperous, and inclusive communities’, in the words of the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Boston was one of just 95 places chosen to benefit from it.

The latest – and last – recipients of grants through the fund are:

• Algarkirk Parish Council – £8,253 for a project to enhance the village play area by installing two accessible picnic tables, new trim trail equipment and renewed surfacing in the swing area.
• The Beonna Community Choir – £5,522 to purchase a larger PA system, portable staging and associated equipment to support community choir performances across Boston borough and surrounding rural communities.
• Boston Borough Council Neighbourhoods Team – £66,000 for a project to redesign and enhance the memorial garden at Boston Crematorium, transforming a worn space into a high-quality environment for remembrance, reflection and wellbeing.
• Boston Borough Council – £75,000 to create a new modern, safe and inclusive play area within Ingelow Avenue Playing Field in the Fenside area of Boston.
• Boston Guildhall Museum – £32,957 for a project to create a new permanent gallery at the Guildhall Museum, alongside an immersive projection experience celebrating the town’s history and links to America.
• Boston Tennis Club – £75,000 to create two covered padel courts and additional parking, providing year-round access to the sport. The projects include dedicated off-peak school access, community outreach sessions, support for disability groups and opportunities for participants from a wide range of backgrounds and abilities.
• Boston Town Amateur Boxing Club – £6,950 to modernise and improve the club’s community boxing and fitness facility through the installation of new flooring, a replacement boxing ring canvas, new heavy-duty punch bags and additional fitness equipment.
• Centrepoint Outreach – £71,398 for an external renovation of its base in Boston. The project will address significant deterioration to the building façade, improve accessibility and strengthen the building’s contribution to the surrounding conservation area and town centre environment.
• The Community Growers CIC – £32,648 for replacing four dilapidated outbuildings with a new multi-purpose facility which will enable year-round delivery of gardening clubs and community activities.
• The Mayflower Sports Club – 63,000 for transforming the club’s site into a more accessible, inclusive and sustainable multi-sport community hub.
• TaylorITEX CIC – £9,000 for a project to improve community facilities at Black Sluice Lock Cottages.
• Unique Hope – £7,000 for a project to establish a portable library of wellbeing, sensory, creative, gardening, cooking and nature-based resources to support an expanded programme of community workshops across Boston.
• Wrangle Bowls Club – £5,000 to install a travelling sprinkler and associated fittings to provide irrigation for the bowling green.

The investment from the Pride in Place Impact Fund is delivered by local authorities in England, Scotland and Wales.

A spokesman for the council said all of the chosen projects meet with its aim of delivering ‘long-lasting improvements to everyday places and the spaces that matter most to residents’.

With match funding, the total amount invested in the borough in this round totals £716,842, which follows an overall investment of £615,167 in round one.

Coun Dale Broughton, leader of Boston Borough Council, said: “This final round of the Pride in Place Impact Fund has been a great success.

“Being able to invest more than £450,000 across the borough is made even more rewarding by knowing the positive impact this funding will have on our people and our communities.

“From the outset, our goal was to support initiatives that celebrate Boston’s heritage, strengthen community spirit and make a lasting difference for residents. I’m delighted that this funding has enabled us to do exactly that.

“Now it’s time for the projects to get under way and I’m already looking forward to seeing the results over the coming months.”