Who are BCAT and BCAF and what do they do?

Burngreave Community Action Forum (BCAF) was established in 1997 to give a voice to all local people and to build communications and community spirit. The Forum meets every three months and its meetings are well attended with lively discussion about the area (see Working together, Issue 36, November 2003 for the latest example).

In 1998 BCAF set up BCAT to act as its ‘delivery arm’, in the belief that the Forum would then be more free to campaign on issues affecting the area. BCAT is a separate charity with its own board of voluntary Trustees. It employs staff, can own property and receive funding. It manages funds for a number of smaller projects, helping them to develop as well as supporting Forum’s meetings and working groups.

BCAT currently receives £200,000 a year from the New Deal and is managing £800,000 of Objective One funding for Firvale (Euro-cash for Fir Vale and Firshill Issue 31, May 2003) and a variety of smaller projects like Listen to Us and the new Language Support Agency. Many areas have similar ‘Community Trusts’, co-ordinating and supporting local regeneration and other New Deal areas are setting them up.

When the New Deal started in Burngreave, BCAT employed their staff team, but that job, and the money that went with it, went to the City Council in April 2002 (April Fools! Issue 21, April 2002).