Nether Stowey Parish Council recognises the importance of supporting groups, organisations and charities that benefit the local community, and that making grants is a valuable method of support. The Parish Council has statutory powers which enable it to make funds available to local organisations for the overall benefit of the parish. The Parish Council can only award grants using certain legal powers. Where there is no statutory power the Parish Council may use Section 137 of the Local Government Act, where the grant is considered to be in the interests of, and will bring direct benefit to, the area or any part of it or all or some of its inhabitants.
A list of Grants awarded since 1 April 2020 is available here.
An annual budget allocation is made as a pool from which all grant funding is drawn. Applications will be considered in the order in which they are accepted as satisfactorily completed with all necessary information required. Once the pool is exhausted additional grant funds will only be made available in exceptional circumstances subject to other demands on the Parish Council’s financial resources. A grant awarded in one year should not be considered as establishing practice for future years; every grant is assessed on its merits in the year in which it is applied for. The Parish Council may take into account previous awards made to an organisation to ensure the limited funds are distributed fairly across the community. Grants cannot be given to individuals, and cannot be awarded retrospectively for expenditure that has already been made.
Please read our Grants Policy before making your application. We would recommend that you do not make any financial commitment before you know a grant has been approved.
- Details of the Policy for awarding Grants is available here
- Application forms are available as a print (PDF version) or
- to download and save as a Word document
- Notes to assist applicants
Applications should be sent to the Clerk at least 10 days before the meeting at which it is to be considered. The schedule for the year is given in the Notes document. This is to allow time for the Clerk to ensure the application is complete and any additional information is available before the agenda for the meeting is published. It is expected that a member of your organisation attends the meeting to present the application and to answer questions etc. If not, the Parish Council may have to defer a decision until the next meeting when the information needed is available.
Finally – the Parish Council are keen to give support where they can. Please contact the Clerk to the Parish Council if you need any help or more advice about applying for a Grant or if you wish to discuss your plans before formally making an application. Caro is available in the office on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday between 10am and 1pm, or phone 01278 733779 during office hours, or e-mail to clerk@netherstowey-pc.gov.uk.