£35,000 of community grants approved by Area North Committee

£35,000 worth of Community Grants have been awarded to three separate projects at a recent Area North Committee which will see improvements to a community park, a community hall and a local Bowls Club.

South Somerset District Council has a long tradition of supporting local communities and through our area Community Grant schemes, applicants are able to access funding of between £101 and £12,500 (up to 50% of the application costs).

At SSDC’s Area North Committee held on Wednesday 24 March, three Community Grants were all unanimously approved by members of the committee. The applications included:

• A £9,992 SSDC Community Grant awarded to South Petherton Arts to contribute towards the costs of £37,926 to replace the roof on St David Hall
• A £12,500 SSDC Community Grant awarded to South Petherton Bowls Club towards the purchase of all ability accessible toilets, a clubhouse extension and storage facilities
• A £12,500 SSDC Community Grant awarded to Kirkham Street Field Community Trust for assisting with the purchase of the Kirkham Street playing field in Somerton.

Our Community Grants programme support community, voluntary and charitable organisation, along with not-for-profit groups that have a signed set of group rules, Parish or Town Council and other organisations including churches and schools.

You can find out more about our Community Grants programme on our website.

About the projects

South Petherton Arts (St David Hall) is an intrinsic part of local community life and used all year round by the villagers and local groups. The hall is regularly used for a variety of activities, arts of drama, mime, ballet, dance, music, singing, playwriting, literature and visual arts, sculpting and painting, film nights, acoustic jam sessions, quiz nights, summer and half term schools and weekly coffee mornings. In recent times, user groups have expressed their concerns at using the hall due to water damage on walls and ceilings and have had to resort to put putting buckets on the floor to catch water leakage from the roof, as well as their being increased electric and heating costs to accommodate loss of heat and to try to prevent more water damage within the building. You can view the application to Area North Committee for the Community Grant online.

South Petherton Bowls Club aim to provide modern disabled access ladies and gents toilet facilities and improved changing and storage facilities. The associated building works will involve demolishing the existing toilet block and replacing it with a modern, accessible and eco-friendly extension. You can find out more about the project and the application submitted to Area North Committee online.

Kirkham Street Field Community Trust applied for a grant to help with the purchase of the Kirkham Street playing field in Somerton. Once the field is declared redundant from its current use as a school playing field, and established as a community park, the Community Trust will be able to purchase the land. With the aim to preserve Kirkham Street Field as a green space located within the town offering many benefits, including its environmental benefits, and boosting the community’s mental health and wellbeing by offering a space for residents to enjoy leisure and recreational activities. Read the application to Area North Committee to find out more information about the project and grant request.