West Marsh Community Centre serves as a vibrant hub for the community, offering classes, a warm space, a baby bank, and even has a MUGA pitch - which sees friendly matches between taxi drivers, helping to sustain community spirit and connection in an isolated job. In the face of rising living costs, the centre’s baby bank provides essential items for families with babies and young children up to age seven, including nappies, wipes, clothing, and, when available, bigger items like cots and buggies. All items are free to parents due to incredible donations and dedicated volunteers.
The East Coast Community Fund grant will provide a switch to a more energy-efficient heating system, reducing the centre’s carbon footprint while delivering warmer, more reliable spaces for classes, events, and community activities.
The separate, smaller emergency grant allowed the centre to purchase weatherproof, secure containers to protect the baby bank’s stock from rain leaks and enable better space to manage stock.
“This funding marks an important step in making West Marsh Community Centre more resilient and sustainable, so we can keep offering vital services to families and the wider community,” said Chris Stanland, Community Development Worker of West Marsh Community Centre. “By investing in a greener heating system, we’re reducing running costs and emissions, and the weatherproof storage grant helps ensure babies and families don’t face gaps in essential supplies.”
Lauren Little, Senior Stakeholder Manager, Ørsted added: “Ørsted is proud to support local communities through programmes that align with our energy transition goals. The heating upgrade demonstrates our commitment to cleaner, more efficient energy in community facilities, and the emergency storage grant reflects our focus on safeguarding critical community services during challenging times.”
The centre’s work - providing a warm space, education and activity opportunities, and the baby bank - has become even more essential as families navigate higher living costs. The combined impact of these two grants will help ensure West Marsh Community Centre remains a welcoming, reliable hub for residents now and well into the future.
If you’d like more information on how to apply for funding, please visit: East Coast Community Fund - Grantscape
To attend the West Marsh Baby Bank, they are open on Thursdays 9.30-11.30am, in the colder months - with more times being added during Spring.
