More cash for local groups (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

More cash for local groups

COMMUNITY projects in west Wiltshire will receive more than £180,000 in district council grants over the next year.

The donations, which were confirmed last week, saw the Citizens' Advice Bureau, Voluntary Action West Wilts (VAWW) and Action on Homelessness among the biggest beneficiaries.

The total of £183,230 includes £29,230 of partnership grants, of which £9,500 will go to west Wiltshire village halls.

Of the £113,000 in service level agreements the CAB will get £60,000, Community First a total of £20,000, VAWW £11,000 and Action on Homelessness £7,000.

Nine smaller groups received a share of £9,000 including Alzheimers Support (£1,500) and Splitz (£2,000) and a further £21,000 will go to developing play areas.

Community issues portfolio holder Cllr Ernie Clark said: "We overhauled how we allocate grant funding last year, and these allocations are the first to be made under the new system. Given that we have extremely limited resources, we have tried to ensure that as many organisations as possible get support."