Member grants reopened

Published Tuesday 9 July, 2024
Last updated on Tuesday 9 July, 2024

Projects in Swale can receive funding from their local councillor to help them make a difference in their community.

Swale Borough Council has reopened the member grant scheme with £47,000 being available to support small-scale, local community projects.

Swale’s 47 councillors have £1,000 each available to fund projects that provide benefits in areas such as culture, sport, recreation, health, environment, community safety, crime reduction and education.

Cllr Richard Palmer, chair of the community committee at the council, said:

“The people who really understand what their area needs are those who live there, and member grants enable us to help these local people’s work to improve their community.

“We put aside this money every year so we can support as many important local community projects that we can.

“A small amount of money can make a huge difference for community groups and projects, so we want to make sure we’re doing what we can to support them.

Cllr Elliott Jayes, vice chair of the community committee, said:

“You can apply for anything that will provide benefit to your community in areas such as culture, sport, recreation, health, environment and community safety, no matter how small it may seem.

“We as councillors are looking forward to hearing from, and offering support to, the people and organisations who are working incredibly hard to make Swale a better place.”

Last year over 200 grants were made to local groups to support projects, including:

· Iwade Parish Council receiving £1,100 to purchase a defibrillator for the village

· Child’s Vision Charity receiving £150 to purchase storage boxes for their clothes bank

· Children and Families charity receiving £2,250 to support their food bank and to run slow cooker cooking courses

The application process simply needs the person or group to discuss the project with their local councillor to get their support.

They will then complete the relevant form and submit the application for approval to the council.

Interested parties can apply to one or more councillors for funding and could have all, or part, of their project funded.

To find out more about member grants visit www.swale.gov.uk/member-grants