Need funding for your community project?
With 26 Parish and Town Council projects funded in 2013-2014, the Parishes Together Fund is looking to allocate more money to local community initiatives.
For the third year running, East Devon District Council (EDDC) and Devon County Council (DCC) are inviting Town and Parish Councils to apply to their joint initiative – the Parishes Together Fund – for grants towards projects that will solve local community issues.
EDDC and DCC are again putting £1.10 per elector into the scheme. Each Town or Parish Council can then apply for up to £1.10 for every person in their parish that was listed on the Electoral Roll in February 2014.
A requirement for successful applications is that two or more parishes must apply jointly for funding for anything from one-off projects to events. The final closing date for applications is 13 February 2015.
Examples of projects funded by the Parishes Together Fund include:
• Bus shelters on a bus route between Farringdon and Sidmouth - £1,650
• The creation of a footpath at Candy’s Field in Lympstone to allow access to the recreation area - £1,964
• The purchase of computer equipment for Ottery St Mary and district computer club - £2,993
• The purchase of gazebos for community events by Exmouth Town Council in collaboration with Budleigh Salterton - £2438.40
• The purchase of books for a reading scheme for the primary school in Rockbeare, which has pupils from the parishes of Rockbeare and Whimple - £2,500
• A refit for the kitchen at Younghayes Community Centre in Cranbrook - £12,000
East Devon District Council’s part of the funding for the Parishes Together Fund has come from the New Homes Bonus, which is paid by the Government to councils for every new home built or brought back into use.
Councillor Ray Bloxham, East Devon District Council Member and Chairman of the New Homes Bonus Panel, said: "The Parishes Together Fund is all about encouraging parishes and towns to work in partnership. This type of collaboration can make an incredible difference in helping address local issues.
“It is immensely rewarding for the Parishes Together Fund to receive feedback from the people responsible for these projects. It is good to know what a difference the funding has made. But most importantly it's about supporting communities help those in need and giving back power back to the people."
Devon County Council Leader, John Hart said: “Devon County Council is continuing to make funds available to communities to use how they see best.
“This money is available to Parish and Town Councils to spend in ways that will benefit their communities.
“I firmly believe decisions should be made as locally as possible to encourage local accountability and I have always advocated more partnership with our district, town and parish colleagues.
“If we believe in the ‘resilience’ of our smaller communities, then this is one way of pump-priming activity”.
To find out more about the Parishes Together Fund, to apply or to see what other projects have been funded visit: http://new.eastdevon.gov.uk/grants-and-funding/parishes-together-fund/
