Dale Benton

Each county councillor will get £2,000 per year to support hard-working local causes across Lincolnshire.

Lincolnshire County Council is relaunching the Big Society Fund after a recent vote in favour of continuing the scheme.

In previous years the county councillor grants have been used to fund village halls, sports clubs, play areas and even rescue boats.

The City of Lincoln Council ran a similar scheme for city councillors’ ward budgets of £1,000, but this was scrapped earlier this year in a bid to save up £33,000 per year.

Councillor Sue Wooley, Executive Councillor for Health, Housing and Communities, said: ” The Big Society Fund has proved to be very popular, enabling councillors with their local knowledge, to support small groups and charities which are active in their area.

“Community groups are the lifeblood of our towns and villages, and provide a fantastic variety of activities and services, for all ages, interests and abilities.

“Often a relatively small sum of money is all a group needs to get off the ground, or can help cover vital running costs.”

Funding is awarded by individual county councillors at their discretion and will be for groups/organisations such as community groups, voluntary organisations, Parish or Town Councils or Registered Charities.

The grant can be used to help provide team clothing or kits, the hiring or purchasing of equipment, training of staff, start up costs, improvement to community facilities and revenue costs such as transport expenses.

To find out how local community groups can apply for support, visit Big Society Fund website.

A forgotten Lincolnshire-born hero will be honoured with a bronze statue above his burial site in London.

Captain Matthew Flinders was born and raised in Donington, south Lincolnshire, in 1774 until the age of 15, when he joined the Royal Navy, going on to become the first person to circumnavigate Australia and identify it as a continent.

There are over 100 statues in Australia devoted to his legacy, but the newly commissioned Matthew Flinders memorial statue will be only the second in the UK.

Captain Matthew Flinders 1774 – 1814

In 1801, Flinders sailed to Australia on his ship the Investigator in which he completed a full trip around Australia, the first time anyone had achieved such a feat.

Flinders wrote a journal, charting his travels around Australia entitled Voyage to Terra Australis Undertaken for the Purpose of Completing the Discovery of that Vast Country, but he died of ill health before it was published in 1814.

Now, a statue of Flinders will be built at Euston Station in London – a modern day burial site for the navigator, whose bones remained entombed beneath the station. The statue will coincide with the 200 year anniversary of his death.

The only other UK statue of Flinders, in his birth town of Donington in south Lincolnshire. Photo: Rodney Burton

Bill Muirhead, South Australia’s Agent General spoke of how Flinders’ grit and determination typified South Australia, despite his English beginnings: “Last year, we were approached by a retired Naval Officer who requested help with commemorating the Bicentenary of Matthew FLinders RN’s passing.

“There was something very adventurous and determined about Flinders, qualities which I consider to be very South Australian – those of triumphing against the odds.”

Sculptor Mark Richards with one of the limited editions of the maquettes, which are currently being sold with their proceeds to go towards to construction of the statue.

UK Scultpor Mark Richards said: “Matthew Flinders’ remarkable achievements are mostly unknown in the United Kingdom, and with that in mind, I see this sculpture to be as much an introduction, as it is a commemoration to his legacy.

“I feel honoured to have been asked to undertake such a landmark commission.”

In celebration of the statue, Mark Richards has produced a limited number of maquettes available for purchase or by making a donation, with all proceeds contributing to the erecting of the statue.

The statue should be completed in July 2014.

Top businessman Sir Stuart Rose is a big supporter of the campaign, and quite a fan of Matthew Flinders.