Council awards grants totalling more than £200k to local community groups

Thanet District Council has awarded grant funding, totalling £207,500, to a wide range of voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) groups across the district from its Thanet Shared Prosperity Grant Fund.

The Thanet Shared Prosperity Grant Fund was launched at the Community Champions Conference, organised by the council, which was held in November 2023. 

Local community groups were invited to apply to the Thanet Shared Prosperity Grant Fund, and funding was awarded through a competitive process.

The funding will go to projects designed to improve the lives of people living in the five communities that were identified for support through the grant fund. These areas were identified on the basis of their levels of deprivation. They include Cliftonville West, Dane Valley and Margate Central, in Margate; and Newington and Northwood, and Central Harbour and Eastcliff in Ramsgate. 

The Thanet Shared Prosperity Grant Fund is made up of two separate sources; the Thanet Community Small Grants Fund and the Thanet Community Development Grant Programme. 

The Thanet Community Small Grants Fund supports community groups to deliver projects that tackle some of the challenges facing people living in the five communities identified for support.

One-off grants of between £1,000 and £10,000 have been awarded to 26 local VCSE groups, totalling over £194,000. 

The Thanet Community Development Grant Programme supports new ideas to tackle some of the challenges facing people living in the target communities. Funding will be awarded over two phases. 

Nine grants of £1,500 have been awarded during the first phase of the programme, totalling £13,500. Ths funding will allow the successful VCSE groups to develop business plans for their proposed projects.

Five grants of between £10,000 and £20,000 will be awarded under the second phase, to fund year-long pilot schemes. Applications for the second phase of funding have been submitted and the next step is for community groups to present their project plans to the Grants Review Panel. The successful submissions will be announced in April 2024.

Cllr Ruth Duckworth, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Property, said: “The Shared Prosperity Grant Fund is supporting Thanet’s voluntary, community and social enterprise sector to deliver a diverse range of community-focused projects. Each of these has the potential to improve the lives of residents in the five communities that have been identified as needing additional support. 

“This funding can make a real difference to our residents. I am looking forward to seeing the progress on each of the projects as they develop, and to finding out more about the pilot schemes submitted as part of the Community Development Grant Programme.”

Thanet was awarded £1.15m under the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, which is part of the wider Levelling Up agenda. It is intended to reduce inequalities between communities, building a sense of community, restoring local pride and increasing life chances for residents. 

The full list of awards is available on the council’s website. 

Find out more about the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in Thanet on the council’s website.