Cabinet agree £650,000 package of community funding support

22 May 2024

Community funding support of close to £650,000 to support the health and wellbeing of residents across West Suffolk, has been agreed.

Cabinet members at West Suffolk Council last night (21) discussed changes to its annual grant scheme known at Community Chest, in part designed to encourage more small community groups to apply.

West Suffolk’s strategic priority for thriving communities, includes ensuring residents can access services, benefits, and support, as well as enabling them to improve their physical and mental health and wellbeing through a wide range of community activities. Much of this is achieved through the council’s support for projects and initiatives delivered by community groups, charities and voluntary organisations across West Suffolk.

The changes agreed will see the application process streamlined to encourage smaller community organisations to apply. The annual grant scheme will also be renamed as the Thriving Communities Fund with two levels of grant funding available when it opens to applications this summer.

The first - offering grants of between £2,000 and £8,000 - will be for one-off projects by community groups, that will support residents in a small part of the district such as an estate or village.

The second – with grants of between £8,001 and £20,000 – will fund work to support residents across the whole of West Suffolk or big parts of the district such as a town. Although organisations can apply for this level of funding, the council retains its discretion to take each application on its merits and may grant a smaller amount.

The refresh of the grants scheme will also better promote the availability of councillor locality budgets which are available throughout the year. Each of the council’s 64 councillors has an annual locality budget of £2,800 to spend supporting initiatives to benefit their residents in their ward area. The minimum amount available for a locality budget grant is £100. 

Cllr Donna Higgins, Cabinet Member for Families and Communities at West Suffolk Council, who presented the recommend changes to Cabinet, said: “These changes will improve on the support available for community initiatives large and small to help the health and wellbeing of residents in West Suffolk. 

“Our councillors all have an important role in the heart of their communities. This includes using their locality budget funds which are available throughout the year, to support community initiatives that help or benefit residents in their wards.

“The Thriving Communities Fund will make it easier for community groups to apply, particularly for those one-off projects that will benefit residents in a particular area such as a village or a housing estate.

“We will also continue to make funding available to those larger projects such as those run by charities and voluntary organisations to support residents either in a town or across the whole of the district.

“All of this will also contribute to the delivery of our strategic priority for Thriving Communities, ensuring residents can access services and support as well as activities to improve their health and wellbeing.”

Tuesday night’s Cabinet members also approved a grant agreement which gives certainty to Citizens Advice West Suffolk. 

Previously it has had to bid for money towards its operational costs, competing with other good causes for limited funds with no guarantee over what to expect.

The grant agreement means West Suffolk Council will pledge to gives Citizens Advice West Suffolk £200,000 a year for the next three years. 

Cllr Higgins said: “The amazing work that Citizens Advice carries out to help residents access services and support, continues to be absolutely vital. That’s why I am delighted that Cabinet have agreed to a grant agreement which offers Citizens Advice certainty over funding toward its day-to-day operational costs.”

The grant agreement doesn’t prevent Citizens Advice for applying for funding through locality budgets or the Thriving Community Fund toward any other significant new developments it may be working on to benefit residents in West Suffolk.

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