SOUTH Lanarkshire councillors have granted 16 local groups funding for community projects and for offering a warm welcome. 

At the East Kilbride Area Committee meeting this week, elected members granted five community groups funding from the community grants, as well as contributing money to 11 voluntary groups who are offering a warm space to locals.

The council operates a community grants scheme in each locality, which aims to support local constituted community groups and voluntary organisations.

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The main aims of the community grants scheme are to fund activities and projects which bring community benefit, involve people in the community by bringing them together to enjoy educational, recreational, leisure and other community activities or to improve the local environment.

Support can be provided for a range of activities including administration and publicity costs, purchase of equipment and materials, annual outings and entrance fees, start-up costs and special events.

Five groups across East Kilbride were granted funding, and those include East Kilbride and District Indoor Bowling Club, which was awarded £300 for an outing; XRR Mountaineering Club, which was funded £300 for an outing; Claremont Rambling Club which was granted £480 for an outing, administration and publicity costs; Sandford WRI, Strathaven received £350 and Friends of Stonehouse Park was awarded £300 for equipment, administration and publicity costs.

Money from the community grants scheme also went towards the council’s Warm Welcome initiative which was agreed in September last year. The initiative funds local voluntary and community organisations who are willing to offer a warm space to locals during the height of the cost-of-living crisis.

The council offered a total of £40,000, which was divided up throughout each locality – giving each area £10,000.

In the East Kilbride area, 11 grants were awarded totalling £10,500 – the remaining £500 which was not met by the Council’s Warm Welcome budget was covered by the community grants. 

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Community and voluntary organisations that received funding include East Kilbride West Kirk, St Andrew’s Methodist Church, The Village Centre, Calderwood Baptist Church, Healthy and Active, East Kilbride Moncrieff Parish Church and Coffee and Chat and Company, all in East Kilbride. Stonehouse Business Association and Trust Jack Foundation in Stonehouse, alongside Strathaven Rugby Club and Avendale Old Parish Church in Strathaven also received funding.

East Kilbride locality received a total of £25,750 for community grants for the 2022/2023 financial year, deducting the £500 for the warm welcome grants and the £1730 for community grants, the remaining balance for the year is £11,743.60.