Voting and elections

From street parties to community events, Malvern Hills District Council and Spacehive are working together to bring ideas to life to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee this year.

Individuals, community groups and schools are being encouraged to pitch their project ideas to the crowdfunding platform Spacehive, to begin raising funds for their event.

Malvern Hills District Council has made £10,000 available for the Platinum Jubilee Community Fund, with up to £2,000 for each eligible project.

Projects can be one-off events taking place over the bank holiday weekend from 2 to 5 June or ongoing projects with a lasting legacy, from street parties and get-togethers to community murals and art exhibitions.

The council also has funding pots available including the People Make Places Fund, Destination Zero Community Fund and the Ward Budget Scheme which provides councillors with £500 per year to assist local projects financially.

Anyone interested in crowdfunding for their Jubilee project will need to launch their project on Spacehive by 15 March and raise the funds by 29 April.

Cllr Tom Wells, Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Community Services at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "Crowdfunding is a great way of raising funds rapidly by connecting people and communities. This is the perfect opportunity to make your Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebration truly special and memorable. It's a prime example of the basis of our Connected Communities Strategy which aims to empower communities to come together and become strong and resilient".

Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/crowdfunding for more information and to get in touch.

Malvern Hills District Council is providing funding to community projects which aim to make a greener and more sustainable district.

The Destination Zero Community Fund is a dedicated funding pot available through the crowdfunding platform, Spacehive, to support local, community-led projects that help to reduce carbon emissions.

The £100,000 fund, which is aimed at community groups, charities, local councils, schools and individuals to help bring forward projects that would have a wider community benefit.

The council is interested in projects that contribute towards the aims of the Destination Zero plan, focusing on reducing carbon emissions, tackling climate change, and enhancing biodiversity and habitats.

Projects with the following outcomes are being encouraged:

• Improved energy efficiency of homes through community action
• Increased low carbon travel for community benefit
• Community campaigns that support reduce, reuse, and recycle initiatives
• Natural measures to capture and store carbon (e.g., tree planting, pollinator sites, wetlands, wildflower meadows)

Examples of projects could be a community garden, e-bike hire schemes, community repair café, swap shop events, local renewable energy schemes, but there are many more possibilities.

The council will review all project campaigns and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge of up to £10,000 (max. 50% of the campaign target).

The size of the pledge will depend on the size of the project, how it delivers against fund criteria and Destination Zero objectives, the impact it will have, and the buy-in from the community.

Before the fund launches, the council is encouraging organisations to share their project ideas to inspire others.

Cllr Sarah Rouse, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "The fund is a brilliant opportunity for the community to come together and set up projects that could make a real difference to reducing the carbon emissions in our wonderful district. We are asking people to take part in our ideas board to get them talking, inspire them and encourage them to create projects within their communities that will help create a greener, more sustainable district. By sharing these ideas, it could inspire a group to develop a project and help make them a reality."

Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/crowdfunding to share your project ideas and to find out more information about the fund.

Malvern Hills District Council is providing funding to community projects which aim to make a greener and more sustainable district.

The Destination Zero Community Fund is a dedicated funding pot available through the crowdfunding platform, Spacehive, to support local, community-led projects that help to reduce carbon emissions.

The £100,000 fund is aimed at community groups, charities, local councils, schools and individuals to help bring forward projects that would have a wider community benefit.

The council is interested in projects that contribute towards the aims of the Destination Zero plan, focusing on reducing carbon emissions, tackling climate change, and enhancing biodiversity and habitats.

Projects with the following outcomes are being encouraged:

• Improved energy efficiency of homes through community action
• Increased low carbon travel for community benefit
• Community campaigns that support reduce, reuse, and recycle initiatives
• Natural measures to capture and store carbon (e.g., tree planting, pollinator sites, wetlands, wildflower meadows)

Examples of projects could be a community garden, e-bike hire schemes, community repair café, swap shop events, local renewable energy schemes, but there are many more possibilities.

The council will review all project campaigns and successful projects can expect to receive a pledge of up to £10,000 (max. 50% of the campaign target).

The size of the pledge will depend on the size of the project, how it delivers against fund criteria and Destination Zero objectives, the impact it will have, and the buy-in from the community.

Before the fund launches, the council is encouraging organisations to share their project ideas to inspire others.

Cllr Sarah Rouse, Portfolio Holder for Environment at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "The fund is a brilliant opportunity for the community to come together and set up projects that could make a real difference to reducing the carbon emissions in our wonderful district. We are asking people to take part in our ideas board to get them talking, inspire them and encourage them to create projects within their communities that will help create a greener, more sustainable district. By sharing these ideas, it could inspire a group to develop a project and help make them a reality."

Visit www.malvernhills.gov.uk/crowdfundingto share your project ideas and to find out more information about the fund.

Malvern Hills District Council (MHDC) and Malvern Hills Community Car Club have joined forces to launch a small fleet of electric bicycles to support access to work and training.

The Ebike to Work scheme provides young people starting work or training with an electric bike to help solve their transport problems.

Transport options are often more limited for people living in rural areas of the district as bus services are not always available and not everyone can afford to own and run a car.

The scheme has been developed by Malvern Hills Car Club (after 12 years of successfully running a two-week Ebike loan scheme) and has received funding of £22,800 from MHDC.

To be accepted on the scheme, participants need to be aged 16 years or over, live or work/train in the Malvern Hills District and have a firm offer of work, training or college course.

It is also available for young people already in work or college who are at risk of losing a job or placement due to transport difficulties.

Robin Coates, Co-founder of Malvern Hills Community Car Club, said: "We have been helping residents in the Malvern area since 2009 to see just how wonderful Ebikes are for making everyday trips easy, pleasant and healthy. We have done this by providing good Ebikes for short term loans.

"With this grant we can now start to help people use Ebikes to get to work and they can hire an Ebike for longer periods. We think this will be particularly helpful to young people starting work or further education. There are so many that either live in rural areas where there is no transport at the times they need it or live in towns but want to work in rural areas."

Cllr Daniel Walton Portfolio Holder for Economic Development and Tourism at Malvern Hills District Council, said: "There are many well-known benefits to Ebikes, from environmental to health, but for us, this is a great opportunity to work with Malvern Hills Car Clubs and offer an affordable transport solution to help people access work and training . As well as improving transport options for people in the district it also supports our Destination Zero commitment to cut carbon emissions and encourage the use of more sustainable modes of transport".

There are a limited number of electric bicycles available now and the priority is to support apprentices overcome any transport barriers they may have. There is a small loan charge of £15 a week.

Apprentices may also be eligible for support with the hire cost via the Councils Training Support Bursary.

A website with a contact page for the Ebike to Work scheme will be operating by mid February or contact Robin Coates on 07973 721 809.