Warwickshire News Mine

Funding available for community and voluntary groups

Community groups and voluntary organisations across Stratford District are being invited to bid for funding to help their work.

Grants of up to £8,000 are available from the Community Development Fund for one-off projects. Bids must be made with support from the local county councillor and received by the deadline of Monday 5th July.

The fund is run by Warwickshire County Council to help communities address issues of local concern to them. Some examples of projects that have been funded are:-

A grant of £7,000 was awarded to Warmington Village Hall to improve facilities on offer to the hall and, in so doing, increase the benefit of the hall to a larger number of people.

£5,000 was awarded to the Healthy Hub at the Bridge Café in Southam to provide a lunch club for older people and a breakfast club for young parents.

Alcester Town Council received £8,350 towards the Alcester Community Orchard to provide an area where the community can engage with their local environment and provide a range of activities that will encourage greater use of the site by local residents and raise biodiversity on the site.

Once the bids are in, county councillors will choose the successful applications at the local area committee meeting on Wednesday 20th October 2010.

Chair of the Stratford-on-Avon Area Committee, Councillor Mike Perry said: "The Community Development Fund has proved to be a huge success with nearly £350,000 being given to support over 90 projects in the district since 2000/2001.

“The fund aims to help communities, especially in more disadvantaged areas of the county, tackle issues of local concern.  The money that is awarded allows Warwickshire County Council to work in partnership to increase access to a number of important local services and we encourage local groups to come up with ideas and apply for help in funding projects that are important to their communities.  However, competition for the grants from the Fund is always high, so we do urge community and voluntary groups to hurry and be sure to beat the deadline.”

Due to the popularity of the Fund last year, we are inviting prospective applicants to a workshop which will be held on Thursday 17th June between 2 pm – 4 pm at Stratford on Avon District Council Offices.  The purpose of the workshop will be for applicants to find out more information about the fund and to seek further guidance and support for their application, to include signposting to any other relevant sources of funding for their projects.  Places are limited so please book early to guarantee a place. 

For more information contact Amanda Wilson-Patterson at the Stratford-on-Avon Area Office, who can provide information, advice and support during your application process and while developing your project:  Amanda can be contacted on 01789 290787 or by email at stratford@warwickshire.gov.uk.  An application form and guidance notes is available to download on http://www.warwickshire.gov.uk/stratfordarea

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