Thatcham Town Council awards more than £16,000 in grants

In this round of grants the town council had £16,200 worth of allocation to give out but the requests which came in totalled £27,998.40.
This was the first time in several years in which the grants asked for exceeded the town council's allowance.
The applicants went along to ask for grants for a varying selection of things including help with running costs, kits for football clubs, costume storage boxes for the local amateur dramatics society, climbing ropes for a local scout group and subsidies towards respite breaks.
Thatcham Pre-School asked for £1,800 for a new camera, printing inks, bikes, aprons and a sign.
Its chairwoman, Ann Cooper, said: "We have had some drastic cuts in staff, we thought we were going to have to shut down.
"It has been really, really tight but we have been able to save [some money].
"We have got no spare money for anything."
The pre-school in Urquhart Road received £1,500.
Children's 1st West Berkshire, which runs an after foster care house in Thatcham, got the full amount it was asking for - £1,000.
Patsy Stone, who runs the charity with her husband John, said that they would use the money for general running costs.
The Benefits Advice Partnership, which offers benefits and pension advice to almost 100 people in Thatcham asked for £1,900 to advertise their services.
Spokesman, Peter Shepherd, said that they always tried to raise the money themselves with events such as cake sales but that they still needed a bit of help raising the capital needed.
He said: "What we try to do is make things a bit simpler, push people in the right direction and introduce them to people who can help. "
It received £1,000.
Oriol's, a social enterprise company based at New Greenham Park, asked for the biggest amount of the evening - £6,192 towards the rental of a studio.
Oriol's was set up to provide people with learning disabilities and other restrictive conditions an environment where they could access appropriate musical activities.
Adam Foster who runs Oriol's said: "We wanted to start an after school club and get people in to learn about how to make music
"We are also trying to offer a one to one after school club but that's difficult when funds are tied up in rents."
Once all the applications had been looked at Thatcham Town Council awarded the remainder of the money to Oriol's - £1,138.50.
After the awards had been distributed, grants committee chairman and town council leader, Lee Dillon, said: "We have managed to give an award to every applicant.
"As a council we are keen to support as many organisations as possible."

The full list of who got what:
Children’s 1st West Berkshire – asked for £1,000, was awarded £1,000
Berkshire MS Therapy Centre – asked for £1,000, was awarded £500
Thatcham Blues – application withdrawn
Life Education Centres Thames Valley – asked for £500, was awarded £500
Thatcham Neighbourhood Police Team - asked for £250, was awarded £250
Berkshire County Blind Society - asked for £750, was awarded £250
Thatcham U3A – asked for £270, was awarded £200
The Benefits Advice Partnership – asked for £1,900, was awarded £1,000
Newbury Nomads – asked for £60, awarded £60
Burdwood baby and Toddler Group – asked for £200, was awarded £200
Dingley Family and Specialist Early Years Centre – asked for £425, was awarded £425
Thatcham Neighbourhood Action Group – asked for £780, was awarded £780
Albion Adventure Candidates – asked for £739.90, was awarded £740
Vitalise – asked for £181.50, was awarded £181.50
Thatcham Town Harriers – asked for £675, was awarded 675
Thatcham Rugby club – asked for £600, was awarded £600
Newbury and District Table Tennis Association – asked for £800, awarded £400
West Berkshire Neurological Alliance – asked for £500, was awarded £500
WEBCAS – £1,000, was awarded £500
The BeAt Youth Club – asked for £850, was awarded £850
St Mary’s Church Bell Ringers – asked for £600, was awarded £600
Kennet Amateur Theatrical Society – asked for £250, was awarded £250
Pied Piper Pre-School – asked for £500, was awarded £250
First Thatcham St Mary’s Scout Group – asked for £175, was awarded £175
Thatcham Children’s Memorial – Money to be awarded from capital funding rather than grant
Third Kennet Vale Rainbows – asked for £300, was awarded £300
Thatcham Town Ladies and Girls Football Club - Money to be awarded from capital funding rather than grant
Thatcham Pre-School – asked for £1,800, was awarded £1,500
Education Business Partnership – asked for £1,500, was awarded £875
Thatcham Women’s Institute – asked for £600, was awarded £500
Oriol’s – asked for £6,192, was awarded £1,138.50
Home Start West Berkshire – asked for £1,400, was awarded £1,000