Town council’s grants boost for local groups

OVER £4,600 worth of small grants were awarded to local groups and projects by Melksham Town Council last month.  

Groups and charities that benefited from this round of funding – the second of four rounds for the 2021/22 financial year – included Melksham Community Meals, Dorothy House, Read Easy North and West Wiltshire, Melksham Bloomers, AFC Melksham Disabled Football Club, 2385 (Melksham) Squadron ATC (Cadets), Wiltshire Sight and Melksham Goes Wild. 

The town council has recently changed its grants scheme – instead of one round of applications per year, the council will consider applications quarterly. The change to the grants process means that each quarter, the town council has a budget of £6,250 to work with – £25,000 has been budgeted for the 2021/22 financial year in total.  

For this round of funding a total of £12,579 had been requested by 13 applicants, resulting in some getting less than they requested, and where appropriate, some were signposted to the Melksham Area Board to seek the remainder of their grant request. 

Grants ranged in value from £182 up to the biggest grant of £1,442 which was given to Dorothy House to help fund a new monthly clinic in Melksham, run by a Dorothy House nurse, which they hope will open in the winter this year.  

Their application said, “We anticipate this being located in a community centre, at the community hospital or at one of the GP surgeries. This is part of a wider project to establish similar clinics in 10 neighbourhoods across our region (funding has already been secured to establish a clinic in Chippenham). The start date of the Melksham clinic will partly depend on any remaining restrictions related to the pandemic, but we are aiming to open it during winter 2021.  

“The half-day-per-month clinic will be open to anyone with a life-limiting illness, with a key focus on improving access to care for those who are geographically isolated or those who may be unaware that they are able to access hospice services, such as those with heart disease, frailty or dementia. Patients will be able to access the clinic at any stage in their diagnosis, supporting the benefits of early intervention and re-enablement therapies to help people achieve a better quality of life for as long as possible.” 

Melksham Bloomers was awarded £833 to help create a new community garden on the unused green space next to the petrol station on Semington Road.  

And Alzheimer’s Support Wiltshire was awarded £782 to help fund their Melksham Movement for the Mind group, which meets fortnightly at Bowerhill Village Hall for gentle exercise to music in a supportive and friendly group setting.  

Four grant applications were not awarded.  

A decision about Melksham Cricket Club’s grant, which requested £2,500 to help replace 25-year-old Astro turf, was deferred until November, with the town council requesting further information about their accounts. 

Melksham 60+ Club, who asked for £250 to support their ongoing costs, was asked to submit a new application for November’s round of funding, with the town council asking them to provide more financial information. 

TransWilts’ request for £1,150, to help purchase a defibrillator for the Melksham Hub Café at the railway station, was signposted to apply to the Melksham Area Board for funding instead. 

And Age UK Wiltshire’s request for £920 to fund the delivery of their Fitness and Friendship Club in Bowerhill Village Hall, was turned down as the town council felt that the charity had “adequate reserves” to meet the cost of the project. 

The £1,600 that was not awarded in the second round of funding will be rolled over to the next round, giving the council £7,850 to spend.