Sheppey Little Theatre shortlisted for national award.

Sheppey Entertainments Association who run Sheppey Little Theatre have been shortlisted for a national award at the Biffa Award Ceremony 2016. The ceremony recognises the achievements of community and environmental projects across the UK. We will now compete against three other organisations or the chance to be named winner of the Arts & Heritage category. Other shortlisted projects include Northern Print Ltd (Newcastle), Green’s Windmill Trust (Nottinghamshire), and The Lowry Centre Limited (Greater Manchester).

Competition has been fierce from the start, with more than 170 projects eligible to enter the awards under four different categories: Sport & Play, Nature Spaces, Arts & Heritage and Community Life. The winner of each category will receive a trophy and a cheque for £1,000 to help support the continuing development of their project.
The Sheppey Little Theatre’s project received £6,196.00 in funding from Biffa Award to install a new energy efficient boiler. The Theatre had installed a boiler when it was first converted to from a church Sunday school in 1975 and the old boiler was still going, but it had become inefficient and no longer met safety standards. The new boiler paid for by Biffa Awards has cut the Theatre’s fuel bills for heating by 40%.
The ceremony will be held on the 12th October at the Dudley Canal & Tunnel Trust. Guests will be invited to attend an event to celebrate the hard work and dedication of those who have committed to improving their local communities, or the environment.
Janys Thornton, Secretary of Sheppey Entertainments Association, said
“We are thrilled to have been shortlisted for the National Awards. When I say the projects we were up against and those projects not shortlisted, I was amazed that our project was so in the running.
“The new boiler funded by Biffa Awards has made a huge difference. The theatre is so much warmer and more controllable. We have saved money at the same time as cutting our carbon footprint. Without the award, we would have struggled to find the funding for this project.”
Gillian French, Biffa Award Head of Grants, said:
“Biffa Award projects make up an eclectic community across the country; with projects ranging in size and scale from a £500 to £1.6 million. This variety is the one of the greatest strengths of this community and the Award Ceremony offers us the chance to celebrate some of their outstanding work. Our judges have a tough decision to decide the winners.”

Biffa Award projects make up an eclectic community across the country; with projects ranging in size and scale from a £500 to £1.6 million. This variety is the one of the greatest strengths of our Biffa Award community, and something to be celebrated. In the past five years alone we have installed double glazing in scout huts and provided a state of the art home for ThrustSSC, the fastest car ever made. We have fixed sprinkler systems in a bowls club, installed practice nets in numerous cricket clubs, and brought beavers back to Britain for the first time in 400 years. You may think that these projects have little in common, but they all represent the best aspects of community spirit and ambition. Though their methods may be different, Biffa Award projects are all united in one mission; to build communities and transform lives.
http://www.biffa-award.org/about-us-inner