Pendeen Parish Members Institute
The Pendeen Parish Members Institute's Secretary Ruth Rodda has announced that all the funding is in place so that work can soon start on their new central outreach facility in the village. Ruth said:

"It has been a roller-coaster ride with all the ups and downs. We would never have done it without Jonathan Julian from the Integrated Area Plan team to help us with our funding applications, or without Helen Rodda who has assisted with funding applications and supported us since 2001. It has been a long haul but we have done it, when we heard 'YES' from the Lottery agreeing to support the project it gave us a real boost, now everything else has fallen into place, we can at last get on with it".

Carleen Kelemen, Director of the Objective One Partnership, in welcoming the project said "It is important that the people of Pendeen have proper access to services aimed at promoting training and employment opportunities. The project will create a multi-purpose facility that will be used to deliver integrated and co-ordinated training, education and health advice".

The building should be completed by Spring next year and will be open during the day and evening offering varying services that the community have identified as being needed, as well as rooms for activities and community group use.

The cost of the £666,993 project will be met by: Community Fund £176,531, Objective One £106,142, South West RDA (Rural Renaissance) £106,142, Single Regeneration Budget £88,756, Neighbourhood Renewal Fund £88,756, JobCentre Plus £28,541, Penwith District Council £33,000, Cornwall County Council £19,200, Countryside Agency £14,475, Pendeen Community Project £250, St Just Town Council £100, Pendeen Residents Association £100, and the Pendeen Parish Members Institute's own local fund-raising of £5,000.

Youth Activity Pendeen (YAP)
Another group who are well on the way to achieving their aims are Youth Activity Pendeen (YAP), they have also used the right ingredients and have secured funding from 'Living Spaces' so that they can equip the central playing area with modern, safe and exciting equipment. Vicky Donnithorne the chairperson of YAP said:

"I am lucky to have such a determined Committee, because determination and perseverance are what you need the most. At times it's been a real slog, but we've had fun along the way and we have learned a lot, and I know we will all be very proud when we've completed our project. We have a fantastic Secretary, Michelle Cutter who has done reams of paperwork for YAP and has proved to be invaluable."

YAP need to secure a further £60,000 for the final stage of the project. Young people in the area have been involved in all of the decision making as well as helping to raise funds to obtain the equipment that they have all helped to choose.

Michelle Cutter YAPs Secretary and now expert application form-filler said: "The whole project has been one long learning curve, from setting up a committee, fundraising, to application forms for funding. We thought the funding would be easily accessible, but it has been much much harder than we envisaged. If someone told us it would take us 3 years to reach our aims (and its still not finished) we would not have been so enthusiastic. We have been lucky to have the Project Office in Pendeen as Helen has been there to guide us and support us whenever we need help.

Pendeen Pre-School
The Pendeen Pre-School Committee also has a major project that they are working towards achieving. By working in partnership with
the Pendeen Primary School they plan to have a purpose built Pre-School building on the Primary School site. Kathryn Prowse the Assistant Play leader of the Pre- School said:

"With all the new OFSTED care standards it's a nightmare, we just can not stay in our present room. We need a warm, bright, child friendly new building for the children, parents and staff if we don't achieve our aim of getting a purpose built Pre-School building we will have to close. We have attended regular meetings with existing community groups who own their own buildings to discuss if there was a way forward with sharing a building, unfortunately this was not possible due to specific needs and OFSTED requirements. The good thing that came out of these meetings was that there is no duplication in the provision that each group will be providing."
Alison Daw the Play Leader said that when they started this project they did not think it would take so long!! "We have never done anything like this before and we have sometimes taken the long route to reach different targets. It feels like you take one step forward and two steps back, but there is a feeling of real achievement when you get to your goal. We are now at the funding stage and are very lucky to have the help of Helen and Tracy from the Project Office to guide us through.

Hollie Clarke the Pre-School committee member who is responsible for funding said that the new build is an important development not only for the children of Pendeen but also for the village as whole. She finds the funding applications time-consuming but eventually she knows they will produce a rewarding result.

The Pendeen Community Project finished on the 31st March. After completing just over three and a half years of working in the community, Helen Rodda the Project Coordinator commented that she had thoroughly enjoyed her time working in the village. "So many people have learnt so much and thank goodness they have an abundance of patience when it comes to funding applications. They have stuck with it, worked incredibly hard, been frustrated at times but have always kept a positive approach and the fruits of their labour are about to blossom, they deserve success with all the hours of work they have put in."

Derek Jones is one of the original members of the Pendeen Community Project's Steering Group he will continue to participate on 'Priority Initiatives Pendeen' (PIP). PIP will work with the community's main projects until the end of September; it will focus on the three Projects mentioned above to ensure that they have successful outcomes with long-term benefits for the community. Derek said:

"I have seen a major change in the amount of activity in the village. People are now more aware of what can be achieved. Thanks to professional guidance through the Project Office confidence has grown and we are looking forward to a brighter future which we have all worked towards."