A HOUSEBUILDER has donated a sizeable sum to support this year's Malmesbury Carnival.

The carnival's committee has received £1,000 from Persimmon Homes Wessex as part of its Community Champions scheme.

The developer makes £64,000 a month available to fund community initiatives across the UK.

With a hundred-year history, the carnival is run by volunteers from the town and draws in crowds of around 5,000 people with more than 30 events to enjoy this year.

Paul Overton, from the carnival, said; “Last year we ran a successful carnival despite the challenges of Covid, and Persimmon supported with the organisation of the event, enabling us to make grants of over £17,000 to 25 local causes.

“Recognising the positive impact the carnival has on the community, we are planning for over 30 events which should appeal to everyone in the local area.

“We’ve had detailed discussions with Wiltshire Council and the police and have received both positive encouragement and useful advice from these organisations.

"Procession is arguably the main event during the month of Carnival. It attracts several thousand people in the town centre and includes a wide range of floats entered by local schools, sports clubs, businesses and individuals.

“We were unable to hold the procession in 2020 due to Covid and were forced to cancel in 2021 as groups had still not been able to meet due to restrictions, so we’re really excited to have it back this year.”

The procession will take place in Malmesbury on Saturday September 3.

Persimmon Homes Wessex sales director Pauline Fletcher said: “We’re really excited to be supporting Malmesbury Carnival again as it’s a brilliant community event.

“We have a long-standing relationship with Paul and the team, so when we saw they’d applied for funding again it felt right to give them another helping hand.

“Every year the programme gets better and better and this year is no different with the hugely popular Procession, Petticoat Lane, Music in the Cloisters and a Family Fun Day, as well as a wide range of talks, walks and evening events.

“It’s great to see things back to normal after the pandemic and I’m sure the Carnival will be another great success.”

For more information, visit www.persimmonhomes.com, or to apply for Community Champions funding, visit www.persimmonhomes.com/charity