Decision

To allocate £30,000 in Community Pride grants as follows:

Organisation

Project name

Amount awarded

1

Art for All Mental Health

Men's Mental Health Graffiti and Mural Painting Group

1,500

2

Leckhampton Rovers Football Club

Burrow's Inclusive Playground - Play Equipment

2,000

3

The Rock

Transition Night Tuesday

2,000

4

The Petersfield Partnership

Community Hub - New Access Paths

2,000

5

Merestones Residents’ Association

A Secret Shed in our Community Orchard

1,000

6

Springbank Community Group CIC

Getting Growing

2,000

7

Please The Bees CiC

Human Hive

2,000

8

Cheltenham Open Studios

Cheltenham Open Studios 15: Connecting Cheltenham Through Art

2,000

9

Friends of Sandford Parks (FOSP)

Storyteller's Corner (Part of the Go4it Sandford Park Playground Renovation Project)

2,000

10

Charlton Kings Parish Council

CK4Bees

1,767

11

Pride in Gloucestershire

Pride in Cheltenham 2027

2,000

12

West Cheltenham Partnership

Springbank Youth Group

1,500

13

Cheltenham Education Partnership

Young Poets

1,825

14

Brizen Young People's Centre

Brizen Intermediate Youth Club

1,500

15

Holy Trinity Primary PTFA

Creating an Inclusive Playground for Holy Trinity Primary School

2,000

16

Art Shape Ltd

Create and Connect

1,908

17

SPRA St Paul's  Residents Association

Christmas in St Paul's

1,000

TOTAL

30,000

Reasons for the decision

The council made available £30,000 to allocate to local good causes that help build community pride. Grants of up to £2,000 were available on a 50% match funding basis for projects to deliver one or more of these key themes:

• Connecting people - fostering new relationships and celebrating our culture and diverse communities,
• Enhancing biodiversity and the natural environment - improving and creating accessible and inclusive green and urban spaces for enjoyment and learning,
• Supporting children and their families as part of No Child Left Behind's Year of Education for All - helping children and young people to thrive and reach their potential,
• Improving community safety - addressing safety issues both in the physical world and online,
• Promoting wellbeing - encouraging physical and mental well-being across our communities.

The Community Pride Fund was open for applications from 23rd July until 10th September 2026. An assessment panel made up of the Leader of the Council, Cabinet Member Safety and Communities, Angela Gilbert from Gloucestershire Rural Communities Council and the Participation and Engagement Team Leader met on 30th September 2026 and reviewed the 30 applications received (which totalled £56,229.74) and made the above recommendations for 17 projects that met the assessment criteria to the Cabinet Member for Safety and Communities for approval.

Due diligence checks on the applicants were carried out satisfactorily in line with the grants management policy, with the caveat that it has not yet been possible to carry out the check on Merestones Residents’ Association, so that grant allocation is subject to a satisfactory check.

Alternative options considered

Not applicable