Community Grant Scheme 2025

Stratford-on-Avon District Council have made £350,000 available to fund capital projects. There are two funds available - 'Small Grants' and 'Large Grants'. There is £50,000 available for Small Grants projects and £300,000 available for Large Grants projects.

Small Grants projects can apply for between £5,000 - £20,000.

Large Grants projects can apply for between £20,001 - £100,000.

Town and Parish Councils, registered charities, community companies, businesses and enterprises, companies limited by guarantee with charitable status, sports clubs with charitable status and PTAs and "Friends of..." schools and education providers are eligible to apply, if they and their project are in Stratford-on-Avon District.

Schools, private businesses and other for-profit organisations, religious groups and political parties are ineligible for this Scheme.

The Community Grant Scheme 2025 is for capital projects for community buildings and other assets. For example:

• Community halls/centres, village halls and memorial halls
• Recreation grounds
• Sports and leisure facilities
• Community allotments, gardens and orchards

Specific projects will vary depending on location and the asset, but could include:

• External structural repairs to a building
• Refurbishment of existing or installation of new kitchen/bathroom facilities
• Extensions to buildings
• Accessibility improvements to community buildings and any associated spaces e.g. wheelchair access, handrails, raised flower beds, walkways and pathways
• Enhancements to play areas, recreation grounds, and other outdoor community spaces e.g. allotments, orchards, leisure facilities, bus shelters etc
• The purchase of land or the building of new facilities and community assets that meet the scheme objectives

This is not an exhaustive list and only serves to give examples. Any capital projects that meet one or more of the scheme objectives will be considered.

Funding cannot be used to support on-going revenue expenditure, such as staffing costs, utility costs, insurance, debt management, marketing and promotional costs, costs of moving equipment/resources from one location to another, cost of renting alternative accommodation during any building works or other costs at our discretion.

In order to be considered, projects must meet one or more of the seven Scheme Objectives below:

1. Improving resilience - fundamental structural repairs, alterations or improvements ensuring community buildings/spaces can stay functional and operational for many years to come
2. Improving accessibility - alterations and improvements to buildings/spaces allowing for increased support for individuals with additional needs ensuring all members of the community can use and benefit from the asset
3. Improving diversity - extensions to, or adaptations of, buildings/spaces allowing for more diverse activities to be offered ensuring all members of the community can use and benefit from the buildings/spaces i.e. children, families, young people, older people, people with disabilities or from different ethnic backgrounds
4. Maximising utilisation - projects that encourage increased usage of the buildings/spaces, enabling more members of the community to benefit from the services and activities on offer
5. Building community - projects that have community backing highlighting the need, motivation and support from local residents
6. Reducing environmental impact - alterations/improvements are carried out in environmentally friendly ways, which have limited impact on the local environment and climate change, during both the life of the project and create a more sustainable offer over the longer term
7. Creation of a new community asset - new assets are created where there is evidence that this would enhance the local community

Stratford-on-Avon district is comprised of a wide variety of towns, villages and communities, each with their own unique facets. The Council is committed to supporting all parts of the district, particularly areas experiencing changes and challenges around:

• New housing developments
• Access to services and facilities
• Unemployment/underemployment

Therefore, the Council has identified priority areas that are most likely to be experiencing several of the changes and challenges listed above:

• Alcester East and Island
• Alcester North and Conway
• Bardon
• Bidford East, Waterloo and Broom
• Bidford South, Marcliff and Barton
• Depper's Bridge, Chesterton and Kingston
• Henley East and Beaudesert
• Meon Vale
• Shipston North
• Shipston West and Town Centre
• Southam South and Town Centre
• Southam West
• Stratford Maybird
• Stratford Town Centre North
• Studley South
• Tiddington and Alveston
• Upper Lighthorne

Projects that are in one of the priority areas will score higher in their application. However, projects outside of these areas should not be deterred from applying if they can demonstrate a genuine need within their community.

The deadline for applications for the 'Small Grants' Fund is 31st January 2026.

The deadline for applications for the 'Large Grants' Fund is 27th February 2026.

You can contact the Communities and Social Inclusion Team here: socialinclusion@stratford-dc.gov.uk. Please put 'Community Grant Scheme 2025' in the subject box.

If you would prefer to speak to someone, please call 01789 267 575 and ask to speak to Emma Gurdag, Communities and Social Inclusion Enabler.

We will also be holding information sessions about the Scheme, where you can speak to the Scheme Team, as well WCAVA for support in completing the application and accessing other funding. All applicants are encouraged to come to one of these information sessions to discuss your project.

Community Grant Scheme 2025 Information Sessions:
Wednesday 12th November - 5pm-7pm at SDC office, Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford-on-Avon, CV37 6HX
Thursday 13th November - 3pm-5pm at SDC office, Elizabeth House, Church Street, Stratford-on-Avon, CV37 6HX
Friday 14th November - 7pm-9pm online (Teams)

Due to demand, a final Information Session has been added and the details are below:

Friday 28th November - 10am-12pm online (Teams)

Please email socialinclusion@stratford-dc.gov.uk to reserve a space at one of the information sessions.

There is a 2-step application process:

1. Online form
2. Project Workbook

1. Online form

The online form is available on the link above. This form asks for information about you and your organisation, your project and other necessary details. You do not need to complete this form in one sitting; you can save it as you go along and return to it later. Full instructions are available on the link.

2. Project Workbook

The Project Workbook asks for more details about the costs of you project, additional funding sources, project and risk management. This is an excel spreadsheet that will need to be returned to socialinclusion@stratford-dc.gov.uk along with your other additional documentation as required for your application.

Both the online form and the Project Workbook (and additional documentation) must be returned by the deadline for your chosen Grant Scheme i.e. 31st January 2026 if you are applying for a Small Grant and 27th February 2026 if you are applying for a Large Grant.

To receive a copy of the Project Workbook, please email socialinclusion@stratford-dc.gov.uk. A copy will also be emailed to applicants upon receipt of the online form. Please ensure you have enough time to complete both parts of the application before your application deadline. Any applications received after the deadline dates will not be considered.

Please read the 'Information and Guidance Document' before completing the form and workbook. This provides full details of the Scheme as well as all the application questions, suggestions to help with your answers, the scoring/weighting of all of the questions and the list of required additional documentation applicants might need to include as part of your application.

All applications will be assessed by the Community Grant Panel including the Social Inclusion Manager and Social Inclusion Enabler, Portfolio Holder and an independent third party, using a set scoring methodology and criteria. Only information included in the application will be considered.

To ensure the aims and objectives of the Grant Scheme are met, the following questions will be weighted higher than the other scored questions:

• How your project meets the objectives - 35%
• How you intend to successfully deliver the project - 30%
• If your project is in an identified priority area - 10%

Full details of the scoring criteria and weighting can be found in the 'Information and Guidance Document'.

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application during the following time period:
Small Grants - March 2026
Large Grants - April 2026

If you are successful in your application, you will be informed during the relevant period for your Scheme (Small Grants - March 2026, Large Grants - April 2026).

You will be asked to read and sign a Grant Funding Agreement, which has been created for this Scheme. This is a legal document and whilst it is a standard template for all successful applicants, it will detail specific elements related to your project. As with all legal documentation, you may wish to seek advice before signing the agreement.

Once you are happy to sign, the agreement will be sent electronically via Docusign to your organisation's signatories, and you will receive an electronic copy for your records.

During the Project Delivery Phase, someone from the Grant Scheme Team will be in touch with you on a regular basis to check-in and may visit your project. You will be asked to provide regular updates on progress and once the project is complete, you will be required to complete a Final Project Report, illustrating the success of the project and the impact it has had on your community. 

You may wish to use community consultations, surveys or social media to evidence the impact the project has had on your community.

Your project will be used in promotional material during the delivery phase, and in the Scheme round-up once the Scheme period is over in June 2027.

You may wish to carry out a community consultation or use surveys or social media to illustrate the need/support in your community.

There may also be strategic documents that can help to demonstrate need, e.g. a Neighbourhood Plan.

We are asking for three quotes for works/materials, in the majority of cases. 

If your project is a little more bespoke and there are fewer potential suppliers/contractors, this can be discussed with the Grant Scheme Team. Please contact socialinclusion@stratford-dc.gov.uk to arrange a call.

We are asking for applicants to have at least a 10% contingency to cover any price increases or unexpected costs. This must be designated funds in your organisation's bank account.

Applicants can apply without receipt of planning permission or building control approval, where this is needed. If your application scores well during the assessment stage, your grant will be awarded, subject to obtaining the relevant permissions/approval. 

It is recommended that you speak to the Planning Team and Building Control Team to establish whether either are needed for your project. You will be asked to include the outcomes of your contacts with these departments in your application. 

Planning Permission:
You can find out more about planning permission here: Apply for Planning Permission

To speak to the Planning Team, please email: planning.applications@stratford-dc.gov.uk 

Building Control:
You can find out more about building control here: Building Control

To speak to Building Control, please email: buildingcontrol@stratford-dc.gov.uk 

All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application during the relevant period (Small Grants - March 2026, Large Grants - April 2026).

If your project is unsuccessful, please contact Chris Freeman at WCAVA who can support in finding alternative funding opportunities for you project: chrisfreeman@wcava.org.uk. 

There is no requirement for match funding. However, if you have received additional funding from other sources for your project, you will be asked to detail this in your application.

We will maintain a reserve list in the event that any successful projects are unable to go ahead as planned.

This is the first Community Grant Scheme. There are currently no plans to run this type of Scheme again in the future.