Mediation charity has received a grant of £9,892 from The Big Lottery Fund, which will expand our capacity to help residents in dispute with their neighbours. In 2013 we experienced a large increase in demand for our help.

This increase has come as a result of a local press campaign, launch of a new website and working more closely with the local police, housing associations and individual community members. We have neither sufficient capacity nor the technical infrastructure to handle such an increase in volume.

The grant from The Big Lottery Fund will be invested in: - Training of 16 new volunteer mediators. - Development of automated tools for case administration to manage cases on a greater scale while controlling costs and managing quality.

- Expanding awareness of our free mediation service, giving the entire community knowledge of a peaceful alternative to resolving differences at an early stage. The best chance for successful mediation comes when individuals approach us before the situation escalates.

For this reason we want to increase awareness of our service to the general public, not just via other organisations. John Whetsel, the General Manager, said: “We are both proud and excited by this grant, which will enable us to serve 50% more of the estimated 7,500 neighbour disputes in East Surrey while maintaining effectiveness and quality.

Certainly this grant goes a long way to The Big Lottery Fund’s commitment to bring real improvements to communities and the lives of people.