Crafts scheme funded by councillor to support warm spaces is praised

10 Mar 2023

A crafts activity funded through a councillor’s locality budget and delivered to people using some of the town’s warm spaces over the winter, has been praised.

The Crafty Foxes distributed 200 winter activity packs to warm spaces including Art Branches, Bury Drop In, the Theatre Royal and St Edmundsbury Cathedral, made free to individuals and families thanks to a £1000 locality budget grants from West Suffolk councillor Jo Rayner. Packs were also delivered to Bury children’s home and to the Rainbow ward at West Suffolk Hospital as well as workshops delivered at the Angel Hill College, part of the Priory School and to a charity for the deaf and blind which meets in Northgate Street. 

The activity has received positive feedback from the Theatre Royal which has been offering Toasty Tuesdays, a warm meeting space for people to use throughout the winter.

Emma Thorpe, Young People’s Producer at the Theatre Royal said: “It was a useful initiative for people to not only engage with us as a venue but to connect with one another within the community especially in these testing times. The craft packs and beautifully planned and presented activities added an additional draw to our offer for children and families and encouraged people to return each week and take time out of their day to be creative and get involved.”

Cllr Rayner who represents the Abbeygate Ward in Bury St Edmunds said: “The idea behind the packs was to help encourage people to use warm spaces and give them something fun and engaging to do while they were there. I’m pleased to hear how well they have been received and to have supported The Crafty Foxes in this initiative.” 

Michelle Freeman from The Crafty Foxes said: “We recognise that this has been a difficult and challenging winter and we wanted to work with many of the organisations in the town including many of the warm spaces on offer. The craft packs included materials to make your own sock snowman as well as colouring books and pens and pencils, meaning for those who took part before Christmas, it could also be used as a Christmas ornament especially for some of the residents that we were working with who were in temporary accommodation or in the hospital. The Theatre wasn’t the only organisation to feedback how well these had been received and we are grateful to Cllr Rayner for supporting this so that we could distribute these packs to people for free.”

Many warm spaces that have been open during the winter have included activities and games to help people connect.

West Suffolk Council has helped 40 community groups and organisations across West Suffolk access close to £90,000 of funding secured from Suffolk County Council through the Collaborative Communities Board (CCB). The money is being used to keep community buildings open and provide activities to help residents to stay connected and warm. This in turn will help residents reduce their daytime energy costs and lower the risk of respiratory illnesses. Residents can find out about warm spaces in their area at www.westsuffolk.gov.uk/cost-of-living/warm-spaces.cfm

The Council has also used £70,343 from its UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) money to support other related community work to help residents with the cost-of-living challenges this winter as well as supporting community resilience and the growth of community groups. The money, which was again subject to an application process, is being passed on to 23 community organisations and groups in West Suffolk including foodbanks and warm rooms as well as work to provide energy saving support to residents and vulnerable people and outreach work to help people with the cost-of-living. 

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus

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