Funding available for community projects

Community groups are being reminded that funds are available to help kick-start projects that benefit local people. Devon County Council and Devon’s District, Borough and City Councils, made £661,086 available this year for projects that ‘enhance and make a difference to communities’. The Town and Parish Fund, known also by other titles, is administered by District, Borough and City Councils, and is allocated to each area according to the number of people on their electoral role. Devon County Council puts in £1 and city, borough and district councils 10p per electorate. Councils recently reviewed the criteria and want to encourage even more collaboration between communities, be they projects led by voluntary and community groups, or town and parish councils.

Councillor John Hart, Leader of Devon County Council, said: “The money is to encourage communities to work together to identify new ideas for their mutual benefit. It is money to kick start projects, available to help get good ideas off the ground. We’d like to hear from communities about projects that enhance and make a difference to communities.”

In West Devon this year, a community bus shelter initiative has been granted funds to provide a safe and covered place for residents and students to wait; projects including village noticeboards and a Devon Air Ambulance night landing site in one of the remote Dartmoor towns have also been offered funding following successful applications. The Leader of West Devon Borough Council, Councillor Philip Sanders, said: “The Town and Parish fund is a great way for smaller organisations and community groups to access funds that wouldn’t be otherwise available to them. Our communities and volunteer groups are the lifeblood of our areas, and we are proud to support them”.

For more information about the fund, whether applying this financial year or next, contact www.westdevon.gov.uk/article/3864/TAP-Town-Parish-Fund