Council hands out £9.5k to community projects
Twenty groups benefit from the annual grants giveaway by Thatcham Town Council
WEST Berkshire organisations have spoken of their delight after receiving cash injections from Thatcham Town Council.
A total of £9,480.19 was handed out to organisations, leaving the grants committee £9,719.81 to allocate to other projects later in the year.
Fifteen of the 20 successful applications got the full amount they asked for.
The largest cheque was given to Home Start West Berkshire, which requested and received £1,500 for running costs.
Senior organiser Lynne Doherty said: “We are absolutely delighted.
“This money is going to be very useful.”
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust (BBOWT), also got the full amount it asked for, £940 to stage a photographic exhibition over the next couple of years, with the aim to inspire and encourage people to explore the countryside on their doorsteps.
The manager of the trust's West Berkshire Living Landscape Project, Jacky Akam, said: “We have been looking for corporate sponsorship but with limited success.
“We didn't think we were going to get enough money from corporate sponsorship alone.
“[The grant] has made it all possible.”
Thatcham Town Ladies' and Girls' Football Club was given £550 to spend on equipment.
The club's football development officer, Nick Lemin, said: “We were definitely pleased with that amount.
“It is going to help keep the club going really.
“It would have been quite hard to buy the equipment without the grant.”
Kennet Amateur Theatrical Society got the £500 it asked for and will be putting the money towards four radio microphones.
Chairman John Hicks said: “It's something we have been after for a while.
“Before, we relied on borrowing from people or hiring so we thought it was about time we got our own.”
Kennet Radio applied for £6,000 for a licence for a 28-day trial broadcast in December. Although the committee said it could not give the full amount at this stage, it decided that the project was interesting enough to be discussed at a later meeting.
Full list of grants awarded:
Community First Responders (Thatcham), £500 for equipment, uniforms and publicity
Royal School of Military Survey, £350 for display and information boards for nature trails
Thatcham Photographic Club, £158.69 for a portable PA system
Thatcham neighbourhood police team, £250 (matched funding) for the primary schools football
tournament it organises
Newbury Nomads, £60 towards the cost of producing the programme for Our House
Buttercups Baby and Toddler Group, £800 for hall hire costs
Home-Start West Berkshire, £1,500 for running costs
Education Business Partnership West Berkshire, £500 to hold a junior citizens event
West Berkshire Neurological Alliance, £500 towards organising the annual conference
Kennet Amateur Theatrical Society, £500 to buy four radio microphones
Berkshire Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre, £400 towards running costs
Thatcham Town Harriers Football Club, £440 for coaching qualifications, CRB checks, first aid,
safeguarding and shin pads for disabled players
Newbury and District Sea Cadets, £250 for servicing an overhaul boat trailer
3rd Kennet Vale Rainbows Hall, £284 for hall hire and games equipment
Kennet Heath Residents' Association, £450 for facilities hire and insurance and set-up costs for
events
Time Spanner Projects, £277.50 for public liability and employers' liability insurance costs
Thatcham Town Ladies' and Girls' Football Club, £550 for training equipment, first aid kits and goals
Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire Wildlife Trust, £940 to stage a photographic exhibition
Eight Bells for Mental Health, £500 for art materials
Thatcham University of the Third Age, £270 for hall hire
