[Gayle]

Other borough councils have a funding officer or funder finder they're sometimes called. I've not actually heard of Hyndburn having one, so doubt that they do (I could be wrong so I'll need to check). If they don't then it's clearly something that they need.

The problem with the funding application forms is that they are usually very lengthy and quite complex - they also need to be written in 'application speak' to get anywhere. Quite simply they can put a lot of people off!

Also, Councils aren't usually allowed to apply for lottery funding or other streams of funding but the way to get round it is to form small groups i.e. Friends of groups, or to put certain areas of Council responsibility out to Trusts.

The thing with all these things is that you need to be really pro-active and quite visionary about it and I think that's what we're lacking around here.