We’re inviting trustees and staff of VCSE organisations in County Durham to join our next online network meeting on Thursday 10th September from 10.00 - 11.30am focused on making your community building fit for the future. 

What to expect:

• We will explore different charitable structures and what to consider when deciding whether your organisation has the right structure for the future, including moving from an unincorporated to an incorporated charity. 
• Bernard Hammick will be joining us from Hallmaster to talk about preparing for changes in legislation, technology, and community expectations. 

You’ll also have the chance to share your own experiences and tips in smaller breakout rooms, thinking about:

• What you want your organisation to achieve in the future
• What you need to futureproof your organisation

More information and book your place here:

Share and Learn Network Meeting: Futureproofing Your Community Building

As part of a wider Durham County Council programme to reduce smoking rates across County Durham, Durham Community Action (DCA) is working in partnership with a range of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations to develop and deliver local initiatives to help people quit smoking.

Recognising the unique, trusted role of VCSE organisations within their communities, the programme has provided small amounts of funding to offer education, advice, and wraparound emotional support alongside their existing wellbeing and support services.

One such organisation, Burnhope Community Centre, has successfully helped members of its community make lasting changes to their smoking habits, including Lyn, who was facing a range of challenges affecting her health and confidence. Following a diagnosis of COPD and asthma, she was referred to the centre's Wellbeing Coordinator, Julie, by her GP and asthma nurse, both of whom encouraged her to stop smoking.

Through regular one-to-one sessions, Lyn and Julie developed a trusting relationship built on understanding and support. There was no judgement and no pressure, allowing Lyn to speak openly about her experiences and the difficulties she had encountered.

Julie also encouraged Lyn to become involved in activities at the community centre, offering reassurance and support as she attended new groups for the first time.

Lyn began attending the Wednesday lunchtime social group and, although initially apprehensive, what started as a tentative first visit soon became part of her weekly routine. In the group, she found conversation, companionship and support, developing strong friendships. This provided a strong foundation of support, so by the time she decided to quit smoking, she felt emotionally stronger and better equipped to make positive changes.

Today, Lyn has been smoke-free for five months. She is breathing more easily, walking further, saving money and enjoying a more active social life. Most importantly, she has regained confidence in herself and her ability to take control of her health and wellbeing.

Her story demonstrates the benefits of having the right support at the right time, provided by people who listen, understand and help individuals believe in themselves when they need it most.

Burnhope Community Centre offered Lyn the personalised support, encouragement and time she needed to address not only her smoking habit, but also the factors that lay behind it.

Lyn said:

"If I can do it, then I know anyone can. You've got to keep telling yourself that you're going to try."

To find out more about this piece of work, please email our Healthy Communities Project Lead, Susan Fern susan.fern@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

Building more affordable rural homes isn’t a ‘nice to have ’; they are vital to keep our rural communities sustainable and thriving. Affordability is a growing challenge in rural areas and is becoming a place where rural people can no longer afford to live.

Young people, families and key workers are being priced out of their communities, and this can be devastating for them. Even small developments can have a noticeable impact whilst supporting local shops, schools and businesses.

Rural Housing Enablers are uniquely positioned to build trust and broker relationships to facilitate the delivery of high-quality affordable homes in rural areas. They are there to ensure that small rural communities don’t miss out on the development of affordable homes often directed to the more urban areas.

A village can look thriving from the outside while quietly losing the people who make it work. The people who staff the school, care for older residents, serve in the shop, work on the farms, volunteer in the village hall and support local services are pushed out to the nearest town. They may still come back to work, but they cannot come back to live. Bit by bit, the village changes. It becomes a place that depends on people who can no longer afford to belong there.

To show this in more detail, Durham Community Action has commissioned some affordable housing data from ARC4, who use sophisticated data collection and collation, merging real-time information of rental values and sale prices with national and local data on socio-economics, demographics and financial ‘health’ to create locality-specific profiles of the housing market, highlighting these hidden changes village by village. Ageing populations, rising rents and higher numbers of holiday homes are hollowing out some of our communities.

To find out what is happening in your rural community, please contact DCA’s Rural Housing Enabler, Susan Tron by emailing susan.tron@durhamcommunityaction.org.uk

Durham County Council have launched Connecting County Durham, its new online directory of local organisations, activities, and support services for residents and professionals.

The new site is a replacement for the Families Information Service and Locate websites and has been designed in partnership with local people and organisations.

The directory includes:

• Care and support organisations
• Activities and social groups
• Mental and physical wellbeing services
• Childcare and family support
• Special educational needs and disabilities services

It is free for organisations to register and promote their services, which in turn will help strengthen the local support network for residents, so we would encourage everyone to update their entries regularly, or register now if you have not already done so.

For any enquiries, please email  ConnectingCountyDurham@durham.gov.uk

Visit the Connecting County Durham website

At the Adult Social Care Involvement Forum meeting in June, some of those attending said they had experienced challenges with employing Personal Assistants, so a more in-depth conversation online has been scheduled for Monday 24th August at 6.00pm.

This conversation will be for people who use adult social care and have experience of employing Personal Assistants, and their family members, unpaid carers, and supporters.

There will be an expert from the Direct Payments Team on hand to answer any questions.

To find out more or to register, please visit the Adult Social Care Involvement Forum website or for any enquiries or feedback, please email Elaine or Hannah asc.involvement@durham.gov.uk

Do you deliver services in the East Durham area?

How can we create communities where residents have a genuine voice in the decisions that affect their lives?

Join Local Trust and the Institute for Collective Place Leadership at Teesside University for Resident Voice and Local Power, a free, interactive event exploring how communities can strengthen their voice, influence local democracy and shape decisions that affect their neighbourhoods.

The event is ideal for residents, VCSE organisations, local authorities, funders and anyone interested in community-led change. You'll hear practical examples, connect with others working across the region and explore what it takes to put resident voice at the heart of decision-making.

The event is open to everyone across the North East. Travel subsidies are available, and the venue is easily accessible by public transport.

It takes place on Tuesday 15th September from 10.30am - 4.30pm at ATMOS Building, Darlington Campus, Vicarage Road, Darlington, DL1 1JW. 

Register your free place:

Resident Voice and Local Power

Our last Virtual Funding Information Session of this series takes place on Thursday 17th September from 10.00 - 11.30am with The Rothley Trust

This session is for representatives of voluntary and community groups across County Durham.

There will be information on the funds they have available, how to apply, and there will be an opportunity for you to ask questions. 

Book your place here:

The Rothley Trust Virtual Funding Information Session

Club Durham is holding a Network Event on Tuesday, 22nd September from 5.30 - 7.30pm at Spennymoor Leisure Centre. This is a fantastic opportunity to connect, share ideas, and discover a range of valuable support opportunities for your club.

The event will include brief presentations from Club Durham, Sported, Durham Community Action, Rise North East, and Streetgames.

Booking is essential; two people maximum per club. To reserve your place, please email ClubDurham@durham.gov.uk with the following details:

• Full name
• Club name
• Role within the club
• Email address
• Contact number

For more information on Club Durham, please join their Facebook group.

Bookings are now open for our autumn community development workshops, which run from September to December. The workshops are fully funded and are based on topics we regularling received enquiries about. 

The workshops cover a range of issues including funding applications, volunteer management, safeguarding, GDPR, trustee responsibilities, community engagement, trading, managing risk and health and safety. 

Visit our Training and Events page for more information and to book places

Sport England, through their learning and support platform Buddle, has two self-assessment tools designed to support anyone who runs a community sport or physical activity club, group or organisation. 

These include: 

• Health Check Tool, which covers five key operational areas designed to help organisations ensure they’re safe, can meet legal and funding requirements and are set up for sustainable growth.
• Disability Inclusion Hub, developed with the Activity Alliance, which helps organisations ensure they’re providing inclusive and accessible opportunities for disabled people. 

Upon completion, users will receive a report outlining their strengths, areas for development and recommended support resources.

Community groups can now access £1.2m in funding as part of Durham County Council's Local Network scheme.

The council run twelve Local Networks across County Durham that drive community participation and support community-led projects.

The grant comes from the Local Network Fund, and aims to help groups make a bigger impact with community projects.

Applicants can apply for between £5,000 and £10,000, which can be used to support local groups and community projects.

The Local Networks are looking for applications that deliver projects that meet one or more of the following themes:

• Community safety
• Employment, jobs and skills
• Health and wellbeing
• Environment and natural spaces
• Education and training
• Housing and physical infrastructure
• Culture, heritage and events

Local Networks will be open to applications until Wednesday 30th September, giving schools and organisations time to prepare and submit bids after the summer holidays.

Find out more:

Durham County Council - Find funding for your community group

The National Lottery Community Fund’s Awards for All England Environment programme is open for applications from groups who want to take small, practical steps to make a positive difference to the environment and help people connect with and care for nature in their area.

You don’t need to be an environmental organisation – they fund everyday community groups taking action close to home.

They’re interested in funding a wide range of projects including:

• Climate adaptation and resilience projects
• Youth‑led or climate action
• Community growing and food projects
• Repair, reuse and waste‑reduction activities
• Greener community buildings and shared spaces
• Nature and wildlife projects close to home
• Transport decarbonisation projects

Grants range from £300 to £20,000 and can support running costs for your organisation, equipment, volunteer expenses, transport and utilities and more.

You can find full details and how to apply here:

National Lottery Awards for All England Environment Programme

The NEAS & VONNE Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Project supports the installation of public access defibrillators in communities across the North East.

Having a publicly accessible defibrillator available within your community can make a lifesaving difference during a cardiac arrest.

This funding aims to increase the number of accessible AEDs in locations where they are needed most.

To be eligible for funding, there must be no registered public access defibrillator within 500 metres of your proposed location.

Before applying, you can use defibfinder to view the 10 nearest registered defibrillators and check whether your site may qualify.

Useful information and links:

• NEAS & VONNE Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Project
• Thinking about getting a defibrillator?
• NEAS & VONNE AED Funding Application

Community groups are being invited to apply for funding from Believe Housing to deliver projects that tackle social isolation and anti-social behaviour in Durham communities.

Based on its understanding of local communities, the housing association has identified two priorities for its current round of community investment, which is worth around £50,000 in total.

Grants of between £10,000 and £30,000 are available for projects that reduce loneliness and social isolation in Brandon, Browney, Langley Moor and Meadowfield, and up to £15,000 is available for projects that help tackle anti-social behaviour in Ushaw Moor.

Community groups, voluntary organisations and other not-for-profit organisations are encouraged to apply for support to deliver local solutions that make a positive difference for residents.

In Brandon, Browney, Langley Moor and Meadowfield, funding could support befriending and community projects that help people build social connections, improve wellbeing and access support when they need it.

In Ushaw Moor, funding will support projects that bring people together, create positive opportunities for young people and help residents play an active role in creating a safer, stronger community.

Organisations interested in applying must submit an expression of interest by 4.00pm on Monday 24th August, with full applications due by 4.00pm on Monday 7th September.

The Community Investment Team will work with organisations that have an eligible project idea to help them through the application process.

Further information about the funding opportunities and how to apply is available here:

Believe Housing Community Development Fund

Photo: Believe Housing

The Government has launched a call for evidence on the future of how National Lottery good causes funding is distributed.

The call for evidence is a UK-wide exercise to understand preferences for where and how National Lottery funding is distributed.

We are keen to get as many North East regional voices as possible collected in this process; we want to see more funding in our region and see Lottery Programmes securely rooted through regional teams. 

At DCA, we are encouraging as many people as possible to take part; we know that in our region demand outstrips available funds, so anything we can do to help get the message across and potentially secure more funding to our region helps us all.

Please complete the survey by Wednesday 23rd September and share as widely as possible.

(Call for Evidence) National Lottery Good Causes - Fund What Matters To You

The Durham County Council Plan sets out our ambitions for County Durham, which are:

• Reforming the council
• Supercharging our economy
• Building better communities
• Caring for our people
• Practical environmental stewardship

The plan is regularly reviewed to ensure it reflects local needs, focuses on what matters most to communities, and takes account of changes across the county.

They would like to hear your views on whether anything is missing, where more focus is needed, and any comments you have on our proposed approach.

How to take part

Visit Help Shape the Council Plan 2027-2031 and:

• Complete the online survey
• Book a place to attend one of the online consultation events (see below for information)
• Email your feedback to letstalkcountydurham@durham.gov.uk

Event information

Join Durham County Council online to hear a presentation about the proposed Council Plan and an opportunity to share your views. You will be able to ask questions or provide comments. The presenter will be able to respond after the presentation.

The event dates are as follows:

• Wednesday 19th August, 6.00pm - 6.30pm
• Monday 24th August, 2.00pm - 2.30pm
• Tuesday 1st September, 11.00am - 11.30am
• Thursday 10th September, 6.00pm - 6.30pm

The consultation closes on Wednesday 23rd September.

Individuals, community groups, and organisations are invited to take part in the ROUTES (Rural Optimised User-centred Transport Eco System) Project, a new initiative funded by the North East Mayoral Strategic Authority to improve transport options across rural areas of the North East.

ROUTES aims to make it easier for people to access employment, healthcare, education, and community activities by developing more flexible, accessible, and demand-led transport solutions. 

The project is focusing initially on researching West Gateshead, South Northumberland, and North County Durham, working closely with local communities to understand existing transport challenges and identify gaps in provision.

By combining local knowledge with detailed transport data, the project will help develop practical solutions that meet the needs of rural residents. These could include community transport services, shared vehicles, accessible transport options, and demand-responsive services that complement existing public transport networks.

To ensure the project is shaped by those who use transport services, we are asking residents, groups, and organisations to complete the survey and share their views:

Shaping Rural Transport Across the North East - ROUTES Transport Survey

The North East Mayoral Strategic Authority want to hear your views on the proposed Bus Franchising Scheme. Your feedback will help inform the final decision on how bus services are run in the North East.

The consultation is open for responses until Monday 28th September. 

Full details and a link to the consultation can be found here:

Have Your Say on the Future of our Buses

Durham County Council's consultation and engagement platform, Let’s Talk County Durham, provides a space for people to be actively involved in local decision-making, deciding together what should happen.

By registering on the site, you can create your personalised account to make the most of its features and get alerts on subjects or geographical areas of interest to you.

The latest consultations include:

• Help Shape the Horden Residents' Charter
• Seaham Strategic Place Plan
• Making Every Contact Count training sessions for Newton Aycliffe

Visit: www.letstalkcountydurham.co.uk