Media Release : 18 October 2011

Does your sports club need new equipment? Does your village hall need a new heating system?

These are the day-to-day problems that Wealden's Community Grants programme can provide long term solutions to.

There are three schemes now open for applications:

The Wealden Small Grant Scheme offers grants of between £1,000 - £3,000.  In previous years it has supported  wheelchair dancing  and grow your own gardening projects for the Sussex Association for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (SASBAH); and ensured that sporting, socialising and physiotherapy sessions, run by Wealden Step Forward Club for disabled people, can go ahead. 

The other scheme is the  Wealden  Capital Grants Scheme for amounts between £2,000 - £10,000. It has helped ensure that refurbishment work can take place at East Hoathly Village Hall, and that much-needed pitch improvements are carried out at Five Ashes Village Hall's playing area.

Grant support is also available to help voluntary organisations provide a range of valuable services through  Service Level Agreements lasting up to three years.

"We are particularly keen to see applications which support a wide range of community needs, including disabled and young people, and organisations which have not been funded by the Council before," said Councillor Johanna Howell, Cabinet Member for Community and the Voluntary Sector. "There are a great many voluntary organisations - some operating on a very small scale but nevertheless providing real benefits to their local community. The Council only has limited resources, but we feel these grants provide tremendous value for money. And we want to play our part. 

"We appreciate that the current financial climate affects us all. That is why the match funding required for capital projects can now be entirely 'in-kind' such as through volunteer time, which often has a considerable value for community facilities."

The deadline  for  applications is  30 November. Funds must be spent within the next financial year April 2012 - March 2013.  

To ensure all the eligible groups have the chance to benefit from Wealden's Community Grants, a pre-application advice service has been launched and applicants are strongly recommended to take of advantage this.

Sessions will be held  during office hours at the following locations:

Tuesday 8 November - Prospects House, Hailsham.

Wednesday  9 November - Council Offices, Pine Grove, Crowborough.

Tuesday 15 November - Council Offices, Pine Grove, Crowborough.

Wednesday 16 November -  Prospects House, Hailsham.

Please note: an appointment must be booked in advance with Wealden's Voluntary Sector Support Officer. 

For more information and an application form please look at the Community Grant pages on the Community Grants page or contact Wealden's Grant Funding and Voluntary Sector Support Officer on 01323 44352 or email Communitygrants@wealden.gov.uk

Detailed information about Eligibility and Conditions are given within the application forms.