And the winner is... Sustrans' Connect2
A new coastal cycle and pedestrian route linking Bexhill, St Leonards and Hastings is to be built after winning National Lottery funding.
The scheme was part of a winning bid by national cycling charity Sustrans for a £50million Big Lottery Fund grant. As one of 79 routes across the country which make up Sustrans' Connect2 project, the Hastings to Bexhill Coastal Connection will take a £380,000 share.
On receiving the news they had won John Grimshaw, CEO and founder of Sustrans said: “To say I am delighted is such an understatement - this is fantastic news for Sustrans. We are immensely grateful to East Sussex County Council and everyone who got behind the Hastings to Bexhill Coastal Connection to make their votes count. The hard work starts now to build those bridges, tunnels, crossings and networks of paths. Ultimately the real winners will be those millions of people who will now be able to Connect2 their shops, schools, workplaces and each other every day!”
Four projects of national importance went head-to-head in a bid to win the massive £50 million grant, each receiving an initial grant of £500,000 to invest in their project’s development. The other three projects in the running for the grant were Eden Project: The Edge, Sherwood: The Living Legend and Black Country Urban Park.
Last week ITV ran a weeklong series of shows highlighting each of the four projects and phone lines opened for the public to cast their votes on Friday 7th December. For the past two weeks the public have also been able to vote for their favourite project online at www.thepeoples50million.org.uk and all voting closed at 12 noon Monday 10th December.
On notifying the winning project, Sir Clive Booth, Chair of the BIG Lottery Fund said:
"What an amazing, nail-biting journey these contestants have been on. Over the last two years they have entered whole-heartedly into the spirit of the competition. I congratulate them all - and importantly, the winner of the Big Lottery Fund's People's £50 million prize, SUSTRANS' CONNECT2, whose project to create new walking and cycling routes in 79 communities UK wide took 42 per cent of the vote.
“It has been a great privilege to have been part of this ground-breaking initiative. We have all been impressed by the innovation and energy with which all of the projects have reached out across communities and brought their vision to public attention.
“The BIG Lottery Fund is no stranger to intense competition - in the last year we have been asked for 13 times more money than our annual income. The People's £50 Million contest has given the public a taste of what's involved in giving out good cause grants and how very difficult decisions have to be made.
“At the Big Lottery Fund, we wish of course that they could all be winners. But we trust that the investment we have made in the development of each project's plans will pay dividends for years to come.
“This is the biggest amount of money to be awarded by public vote – and the first time the nation has been given a say on where £50 million of the people’s Lottery funding should go to benefit a project of national importance. “
The BIG Lottery Fund and ITV have been giving the public the chance to vote on their favourite regional community projects for the last three years having already given over £13.6million of lottery money to 229 local projects.
Friday, 14th December, 2007
