Communities allocated capital grant funding totalling £1 million

Harborough District Council’s Cabinet, approved, on 15 July, the criteria, allocation and the process for awarding £1 million of capital grant funding to parish and town councils to support them in delivering community projects.

The Community Grants Fund will be split between towns, large villages, medium villages, villages close to urban settlements and small/smaller villages across the Harborough district.

This grant scheme will strengthen working relationships between the council and its parishes and towns and enable delivery of projects and initiatives at a local level.

The criteria for community groups and applicants to apply for the funding is:

• Applications for capital funding will only be accepted from parish/town council and parish meetings having sought and detailed the views of their ward councillors
• For Market Harborough, the 10 ward councillors will consider applications and make recommendations through the Market Harborough Special Expenses Advisory Panel before consideration at Cabinet Grants Sub-Committee
• Grant applications can be used to support other grant opportunities such as S106 as a ‘top-up’
• More than one application can be submitted from each parish or town council subject to applications not exceeding the allocated grant amount for that parish or town
• Grants must be spent within one year of receipt (unless agreement is given by the council to extend the spend-period). Any non-spent money must be returned.

Applicants also need to demonstrate in no more than 1,000 words how their project meets or aligns to at least one of the council’s priorities which are:

• Community leadership to create a sense of pride in our place
• Promoting health and wellbeing and encouraging healthy life choices
• Creating a sustainable environment to protect future generations
• Supporting businesses and residents to deliver a prosperous local economy

The council’s 2024/25 budget approved the recruitment to two fixed term Grant Administrators who will be able to offer help and support in the completion of applications where there may be little knowledge or experience in parishes.

Cllr Phil Knowles, Leader of Harborough District Council, said: “This is a landmark day for the Harborough district and for all of our communities. A commitment which delivers for the whole of the district. I am pleased we are able to support communities by funding some excellent projects that will really help to create more inclusive neighbourhoods and go a long way to make residents feel proud of where they live. I look forward to seeing the positive difference these grants will make to people’s lives across the district.”

For more information about the Community Grants Fund visit: www.harborough.gov.uk/communitygrants or email community.grants@harborough.gov.uk