Grants to further strengthen West Suffolk’s rural communities

23 Mar 2026

A community grant scheme is set to further strengthen the great work that is taking place across West Suffolk’s rural communities.

West Suffolk Council’s Communities Capital Fund is now paying out on £80,000 of grants to 40 community groups and organisations.

It has been funded using money allocated to the council from the Government from the Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF).

The council invited applications between December and 3 March. Grants of between £500 and £2,500 were available toward improvements or the delivery of community assets such as: 

• New or replacement equipment to play areas not owned and maintained by West Suffolk Council.
• Repairs, new equipment or other enhancements to community buildings such as community centres or village halls.
• Capital grant funding for local arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities that will bring the community together and support health and wellbeing. This could include associated equipment or building costs.
• Equipment to improve the offer of clubs within facilities.

The Communities Capital Fund was open to Brandon, Clare, Haverhill, Mildenhall, Newmarket and all West Suffolk villages.

Cllr Donna Higgins, Cabinet Member for Families and Communities at West Suffolk Council said: “Through these latest grants, we are providing further support to rural communities across our West Suffolk villages and many of our towns"

“This money is funding work to buildings, equipment, facilities and other costs that will benefit the residents of all ages, providing places for activity, friendships, and supporting people’s health and wellbeing.”

"It will strengthen the great work that is taking place across our rural communities and further deliver towards our ambition for a thriving West Suffolk.”

Cllr Ian Shipp, Cabinet Member for Leisure and Culture at West Suffolk Council said: “We want residents of all ages to be able to access and enjoy leisure and cultural activities where they live."

“These grants are helping provide vital opportunities for young children to get out and play.”

"They are ensuring that community facilities such as village halls can carry on offering a meeting place for residents, reducing social isolation and loneliness, and boosting people’s health and wellbeing through a host of  activities that bring communities together.”

The Communities Capital Fund was subject to REPF criteria which also meant that it could not be used to support work in Bury St Edmunds due to the town’s population size.

 

The table below outlines the grants that are being paid out from the Communities Capital Fund.

 

Who	Where	What	How much
Barningham Parish Council	Barningham	Repairs to playground equipment and railings.	£2,187
Barningham Village Hall	Barningham	Repairs to the roof of the hall and equipment storeroom.	£2,187
Brandon Allotment Association	Brandon	To enhance features of allotment, providing seating areas, BBQ facility and a water reservoir.	£2,187
Brandon In Bloom	Brandon	Providing volunteers with gardening equipment and tools, covering costs for printing and marketing, and creating a new planting area.	£2,187
Brandon Remembrance Playing Field	Brandon	Designing and building/planting a memorial garden on part of the playing fields in honour of our late Queen Elizabeth II.	£2,187
Brockley Parish Council	Brockley	Repairs and maintenance to play area, installing impact absorbing rubber mulch.	£2,187
Clare Combined Charities	Clare	Working with School children to restore Clare’s commons. Tree Planting. Installing ecological notice boards for people to read about natural landscapes in Clare.	£2,187
Coney Weston Bowls Club	Coney Weston	Money to support enhancing the clubhouse, with work to be done to the social area – installing a bar and dining area.	£2,187
Cowlinge Parish Council	Cowlinge	To purchase and install two spring-mounted swing rockers in the village play area.	£2,150
Culford Village Hall	Culford	Fitting new kitchen unit, insulating outside walls, new windows, new floor.	£2,187
Exning Parish Council	Exning	Exning PC is fully renovating its play area on the Recreation Ground off Chapel Street. This grant would be for new play equipment.	£2,187
Fornham St Martin Village Hall	Fornham St Martin	Two table storage trolley units, which are used to safely store and transport folding tables. These will improve storage and movement of tables, especially by those of limited strength and/or movement ability	£2,187
Great and Little Whelnetham Parish Council	Great and Little Whelnetham	New and replacement equipment to children’s play area and to replace a rusty bench with a switch back balance beam.	£2,187
Great Livermere Parish Council	Great Livermere	Repair to play area, cleaning and painting of equipment, replacement of damaged basket swing seat and ropes.	£2,187
Great Barton Parish Council	Great Barton	New Playground equipment - new in ground trampoline and/or spin-me inclusive roundabout that is accessible to those with mobility issues and wheelchair users.	£2,187
Hargrave Parish Council	Hargrave	New and replacement play area equipment.	£1,000
Exning Tennis Club	Exning	The project aims to update some of the more tired looking equipment, to increase safety with nets between courts, and to make the tennis club, itself, a more welcoming and relaxing environment for all users to enjoy, particularly family members coming to support their children and young people. Club hopes to use the space for more social activities, with a view to increasing support networks.	£2,187
Haverhill Men's Shed	Haverhill	Money towards a combined accessible toilet / wet room.	£2,187
Haverhill Running Club	Haverhill	Want to Hire out 2x tracks, one being a local school playing field and the other a running track. This will allow the club to run extra classes for their younger teams (under 8s).	£2,187
Haverhill Scout and Guide Joint HQ Committee	Haverhill	Repairs to boundary fence around the site, to ensure safety of users.	£2,187
Horringer Parish Council	Horringer	Play area requires repair.	£2,187
Lidgate Bees	Lidgate	Funding is required for the purchase of hives, bee swarms and beekeeping paraphernalia. This will include protective bee suits for all participants.	£2,160
Market Weston Parish Council	Market Weston	To replace grass matting under basket Swing and remedial works to the chains.	£1,100
Mildenhall Cricket Club	Mildenhall	Repairs, upkeep and enhancements to club house and changing rooms.	£1,943
Mildenhall Museum	Mildenhall	Repairs and enhancements to solar panels on museum roof.	£1,500
Moulton Parish Council	Moulton	To purchase new inclusive pay equipment for Moulton playing field and upgrade existing safety surfacing around some of the existing equipment.	£2,187
Moulton Pre School	Moulton	For new equipment to further develop garden area and Forest School provision.	£600
Newmarket Town Council	Newmarket	Improvement to the disabled assistance access to the stage facility in the Memorial Hall. Includes handrail installations on both sides of the stage.	£1,000
Nomads Theatre Group	Newmarket	Looking to insulate building to reduce running costs.	£2,187
Risby Village Hall Charity Trust	Risby	Replacing toilets in village hall, as well as the stage flooring, updating electronics.	£2,187
River of Life Church	Haverhill	Replacing all lighting on site with LED fittings to improve energy efficiency.	£2,187
Stanton Village Play Areas	Stanton	The funding is to replace fencing around the play areas on Mill View which are separated by the highway running through the development.	£2,187
Stradishall Parish Council	Stradishall	Replacement swings and frames.	£2,187
The Stable Café and Community Space	Newmarket	Looking to build a play area at the café, a reading nook and climbing equipment, and repair the pool table	£2,187
Thurlow Village Hall	Thurlow	Weathered village hall doors to be replaced.	£2,187
Tree Action Society of Clare	Clare	Fencing needed to surround tree nursery and flower meadow to protect them from deer’s and rabbits, as well as disabled access and seating in meadow.	£2,187
Troston Village Hall	Troston	Improve outside lighting, for safety and energy efficiency. Repair or replace wooden door of village hall as old one has water penetration and is warped. Purchase of new village hall sign and noticeboard to improve visibility to residents.	£2,187
West Row Bowls Club	West Row	For a defibrillator.	£750
Withersfield Parish Council	Withersfield	To provide a small café and playground on site, providing a meeting place for families.	£2,187
Worlington Parish Council	Worlington	Enhancements to village hall, replace four windows.	£2,187

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