Safer Seas In Cornwall With A Lottery Grant
23.05.2008 17:01:00
The future of a vital Cornwall coast watch station is secure after the project received a Lottery Awards for All boost of £3,455. The award is one of two grants in Cornwall and 69 in the South West totalling £457,114.
National Coastguard Institution Penzance will use its £3,455 grant to refurbish a watch station and increase its number of watch keepers, ensuring the safety of sea users around the Mounts Bay and Newlyn areas. The watch is one of 36 operational stations around the country and is made up of forty volunteers sharing regular AM and PM shifts seven days a week. The group plays a crucial role in sea safety, reporting incidents directly to Falmouth Coastguard and its emergency response teams.
Bryan Jackson, Training Officer, said: “Back in the 1980s the Government decided to shut down coastguard stations such as ours and replace them with modern electronic communication centres such as the one in Falmouth. These do a wonderful job and are even involved in international rescue missions, but the coastguard stations had been the eyes and ears of the British coastline. This was proven in 1994 when two fishermen at nearby Bass Point were lost at sea. It became apparent it could have been prevented had the old watch stations still been running.
“Therefore in 1996 the National Coastguard Institution was formed and stations were re-opened. Our tower here in Penzance was formed in April 2002, constructed out of an old WWII gunning placement. It was completely rebuilt and equipped with necessary equipment such as VHF radios and we’ve been looking after this stretch of coast ever since. Still, time has worn the building down now and it is getting dilapidated.
“With this funding we’ll be able to replace the roof, waterproof it, re-paint it and install a new angled window that eliminates glare and prevents rain obstructing visibility. Our volunteers work four hour shifts in either the morning or the afternoon and come from all walks of life, be they housewife or company director. It’s wonderful for all of us to be able to put something back in the community. Now we’ll be able to recruit even more volunteers to help out.”
Another project set to receive funding is Penryn College, which will receive a £9,930 award to involve young people in an after school club offering outdoor activities, such as hill walking, and train local volunteers in Mountain Leader qualifications. The sports specialist college will also be able to purchase equipment for its students to use on expeditions.
Thomas Studd, Teacher, said: “This project really has two main goals: the first is to teach the youngsters how to be competent outdoor enthusiasts in terms of safety, micro-navigation, map reading, and survival skills. The second aim is to get other adults in the area, such as teachers from nearby primary and secondary schools, qualified in mountaineering and hill walking. We’ll also be able to buy clothing, cookers, backpacks, and sleeping bags.”
Awards for All is the small grants scheme administered by the Big Lottery Fund on behalf of Lottery good cause funders, Arts Council England, Big Lottery Fund, Heritage Lottery Fund and Sport England. The scheme makes awards of between £300 and £10,000 to grass-roots community groups and voluntary organisations.
Mark Cotton, Big Lottery Fund Head of the South West region, said on behalf of Awards for All: “These two Cornwall initiatives both combine outdoors safety and community involvement in a unique way, and it’s tremendous that they’ll be able to continue their crucial work. The South West overall benefited from £457,114 in this round of awards.”
Client name: Big Lottery Fund
Business type: Consumer
Author: Hannah Roberts
Contact author: hannah@montagecomms.com
Web link: http://www.awardsforall.org.uk
