Community investment

In recent years Accent Nene has developed and invested in a range of community services and physical regeneration projects across the eastern region. With professional staff experienced in negotiating complex projects with a wide range of public and private stakeholders, Accent Nene is well placed to be able to deliver challenging renewal/regeneration projects.

Community investment

30/04/2007
Energy for Paston logo

Energy for Paston Project


Energy for Paston is a community development programme based around a quality of life agenda which has been running in Paston for four years funded through Urban II European funding. The Urban II funding ended in December 2006 and although during this period we achieved a great deal, but there was more work to be done to enable the community to run their own Development Trust and Community Interest Companies.

Successes during this period include:
• Community Café
• Community Centre
• Summer School
• Fame Academy
• Fairshare Play Area
• Family Outings
• Adult Education Classes
• Improved physical appearance and atmosphere on Nene's estate
• Fun Days
• Photography project
• Friendship Club
• Mothers and Toddlers group
• Gardening project
• Regeneration School
• Energy for Paston Newsletter

Nene's board kindly agreed to fund the project from December 2006 until March 2007 and we also received Investing in Communities funding.

Energy for Paston was successful in its bid to the Accent on Giving Foundation for further funding (as from April 2007) to cover three more years of the project, enabling us to make the transition to a community development trust, PACT (Paston Area Community Trust), an organisation run by local residents for local residents.

A working group of fifteen residents creating the new organisation, Paston Area Community Trust, has been established. The Development Trust intends to have a number of CICs (Community Investment Companies) the ideas and feasibility of these is currently being worked on with the Development Trust Association and we already have a partially self sustaining Community Café in place which opens three days a week. The cafe is funded by Nene Housing Society and Cross Keys Homes and we are business planning to develop it into a more profitable business which will create the wealth to sustain it into the future.

We, Energy for Paston and the Paston Area Community Trust, have worked with residents on all local residents' groups, Paston Community Action Group, Paston Family Outings Committee, Paston Residents Association and Energy for Paston project board to identify the priorities for the next three years, which are to deliver:

• A community leadership programme in conjunction with
Cambridgeshire Acre (Council for Rural England)
• A community cohesion programme in partnership with No Fear consultants
• A resident led community safety programme in conjunction with Peterborough City Council
• Local Environmental initiatives
• Adult Education programme - (basic skills) with Peterborough Regional College and Peterborough College of Adult Education
• A volunteer Learning Champion training programme with Scarman Trust
• A new role for a Paston resident, Administration/Finance worker, who will be trained by Scarman Trust.

The Future
Paston Area Community Trust (PACT) making Paston a cleaner and safer place to live

Putting the Trust into Paston