Council gives local community groups £44,000 boost

Community, voluntary and faith groups across the Borough are to benefit from more than £44,000 of grant funding from Cheshire East Council.

The second round of Community Grants for 2015/2016 has seen 28 more organisations receive awards ranging from £400 to £5,000. The total being shared out is £44,680.

Grants are available to support community, environmental, sports, arts, heritage and play projects. Only one grant can be awarded to each organisation per financial year.

Applications are judged on a number of criteria and they should be able to display that their project: enhances the quality of life for Cheshire East residents; increases involvement in the community; demonstrates the potential to be sustained in the future; and that it can attract more participants.

Examples of the grants approved are:

St Mary's Church, Nantwich

The church successfully applied for a community grant of £5,000 towards its £126,000 project to install new toilets and disabled access to provide better facilities for a wide range of local community users and visitors. The grant is conditional on securing funding for the total project costs.

Congleton Musical Theatre

The group successfully applied for a community grant of £1,000 towards the cost of sound and lighting for their production being rehearsed for an October performance. The majority of the costs are being funded by ticket sales and there is also a contribution from Congleton Town Council;

Macclesfield Academy Learning Community

The organisation successfully applied for a community grant of £1,000 to fund a summer school with the aim of reducing anti-social behaviour locally. The costs include music tutors and coach fees.

Councillor Les Gilbert, Cabinet member in charge of communities, said: "Community grants provide a lifeline for many local groups who simply wouldn't be able to survive, let alone thrive, without our support.

"What is really impressive is the tremendous community work that can be 'unlocked' and enabled by the provision relatively small amounts of public money.

"It shows what good work can be achieved by the Council working closely with community groups and partners. The Council recognises the valuable input that the voluntary and community sector brings to the quality of life in the community.

"Applying for a community grant is very easy to do and I hope that other groups will be persuaded to do so in the future."

For more information on community grants go to www.cheshireeast.gov.uk

The full list of community grants is:

Events Grant
Alsager Gardens' Association – £150
Congleton Musical Theatre – £1,000
Foden's Brass Band – £600
Macclesfield Pioneering Women – £300
Middlewich Vision – £1,000
Ocean – £1,000

Activities Grant
Centre Stage Youth Theatre – £750
Cheshire Streetwise CIC – £500
Jude Theatre Company CIC – £720
Juel Entertainers – £500
Macclesfield Academy Learning Community – £1,000
Macclesfield Arts' Group – £410
Macclesfield Community Artspace – £1,000
Middlewich Good Neighbours – £500
Mobility and Access Group (MAG) – £1,000
Moss Rose Junior Football Team – £500
Polish Domestic Violence Helpline – £1,000
Poynton and District Rotary Club – £500
Sandbach Striders Running Club – £500

Facilities Grant
17th South West Cheshire Scout Group – £5,000
Alsager Community Church – £2,000
Disley Baptist Church – £5,000
Friends of Stanley Hall Park – £3,000
Haslington Cricket Club – £2,500
Poynton Methodist Church – £3,000
Poynton Youth and Community Centre – £4,000
St Mary's Church, Nantwich – £5,000
Wheelock Pre-School – £2,000

Ed: if any Audlem groups have received any such grants, we would be interested to know and share your information.

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