Bristol Airport’s community fund grants over £160,000 to local projects

In total, 59 individual projects have benefitted from the Fund with grants ranging from £600 to £10,000 in 2021. This includes grants for an outdoor play area for Backwell Junior School and Wrington Primary School, cricket covers for Cleeve Cricket Club, team dugout shelters for Wrington and Redhill Football Club, nature conservation schemes for Bristol Avon River Trust, and Avon Wildlife Trust. In total, £1.2 million has been granted to projects in the surround community of Bristol Airport since the fund was set up in 2012.

The management committee, which oversees Bristol Airport’s Local Community Fund, meets on a quarterly basis to discuss, and decide on all applied projects. The Committee Members consist of representatives from both the airport, North Somerset Council and is independently chaired.

The Fund’s purpose is to help mitigate the impact of the airport’s operations and to give something back to surrounding communities who are situated near the airport. The Fund’s area of benefit includes the parishes of Winford, Wrington, Backwell, Brockley, Cleeve, and Barrow Gurney. Projects which could be eligible for support include initiatives to improvements to transport infrastructure, measures to reduce community severance, nature conservation, educational projects, and local sustainability initiatives. 

Also, as part of the Local Community Fund is the Noise Insulation Scheme, which helps mitigate the impact of aircraft and ground noise. This scheme is set up to provide grants for new window installation for families living close to the airport and this year Bristol Airport granted over £85,000 to 39 individual residents in the local area.

Barry Hamblin, Chair, Bristol Airport Local Community Fund said: “The past 12 months has been another challenging year for local community groups due to the ongoing issues of the COVID-19 pandemic. To be able to grant over £160,000 to support worthwhile community groups is a huge achievement and it has allowed projects to continue to improve, grow and provide essential support for residents near the airport.

As a committee, we understand the importance of the fund and how it can be a valuable part of the local community life. We want to be a ‘force for good’ for the local community groups and we are proud of the projects that we have supported in 2021. We look forward to continuing our support to community groups in 2022.”