Thousands given away in grants
THOUSANDS of pounds have been given to local groups in the latest round of council grants.
Macclesfield Art Group and Wincle St Michael’s PCC were given £692 and £4,200 respectively, by Cheshire East Council.
Macclesfield Art Group has been bringing local artists together for more than half a century.
Current members meet at All Saints Church Hall, Brough Street West, and run a busy programme of demonstrations by professional artists, workshops, and outdoor sketching trips, as well as an annual exhibition and sale of their work.
The group successfully applied for part of the £1,192 its needs to fund an update its publicity materials and develop new communication channels in an effort to ‘refresh their visual identity to appeal to a contemporary audience’.
Wincle St Michael’s Church is in the process of a £50,000 renovation to improve its community use.
The church council wants to reorder the building adding a disabled toilet, move the kitchen, expand the porch and access, and build partitions and a mezzanine floor.
The council approved the bid for £4,200 on the condition that the church is successful in its bid to WREN, which provides grants via the Landfill Communities Fund.
While Macclesfield Town FC and St Michael’s Church in Macclesfield failed in their bids for funding, St Michael’s was successful in getting money from the Town Council.
Macclesfield Town FC had wanted £5,000 towards the £31,000 it needs to install new heating and insulation in the community room.
Meanwhile, St Michael’s Church in Macclesfield was denied £4,887 towards the £8,437 cost to install an electronic winch and pully system for their chandeliers.
However, the church was successful in getting £2,000 from Macclesfield Town Council for the project.
The fundraising effort follows the health and safety row after changes to the rules.
Coun Paul Bates, cabinet member for communities, said: “Community grants provide a lifeline for many local groups who simply wouldn’t be able to survive, let alone thrive, without our support.
“What is really impressive is the tremendous community work that can be ‘ unlocked’ and enabled by the provision of relatively small amounts of money.”
To apply for a grant visit cheshireeast.gov. uk.