Community Grant Scheme 2025

In the 80th anniversary year of VE and VJ day, Stratford-on-Avon District Council are launching the 'Community Grant Scheme 2025', to allow Town and Parish Councils, charities and community groups to apply for a share of £350,000 to support their valuable community assets in memory of the generation who sacrificed so much during the Second World War, and to celebrate the power of community in the 21st Century.

Community facilities and the kind of services that are delivered from them are at the heart of so many of our towns and villages and often their contribution to the social fabric of south Warwickshire is overlooked. The Community Grant Scheme 2025 will be for capital projects enabling eligible organisations to submit applications to improve community buildings and other assets that provide so much to local people.

All details of the Scheme and how to apply can be found in the 'Information and Guidance Document', which will be available in the coming weeks. However, the key details about the scheme can be found below.

Frequently asked questions

How much is available?

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.

How much can I apply for?

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

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

What organisations are eligible to apply?

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.

What types of projects will be considered?

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.

What are the Scheme Objectives?

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

How are applications assessed?

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'.

What are the priority areas?

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:

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

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.

When is the deadline?

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.

How do I apply?

If your organisation has a project, you can apply using the application form, which will be available after the information sessions in November.

Please read the 'Information and Guidance Document' before completing the application form. This provides full details of the Scheme as well as all the application questions and their scoring/weighting.

Who can I speak to, to find out more?

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 as Planning and Building Control for advice around planning permissions and building regulations, WCAVA for support in completing the application and accessing other funding and WRCC for support in completing the application. 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)

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

Timeline for the Scheme