VILLAGE HALL REBUILD FUNDING UPDATE - 25 SEP 26

We are now well into the autumn round of funding applications, focusing largely on local and regional bodies. Most of these funders require us to demonstrate that the vast majority of the project funding is already secured before they will consider an application.

Current applications:

Bradenstoke Solar Park Community Benefit Fund - application submitted to increase the grant already awarded.

The Fore – application submitted in full.

Chippenham Area Board (CAB) – application submitted in full. CAB has now requested multiple quotations, which will also be useful in supporting other applications.

Wiltshire & Swindon Community Foundation – application is ready to submit. We are holding this until we have the additional quotations requested by CAB. The deadline is 17 October, so there is time to incorporate them.

Wessex Water – application has now been started.

Other applications:

We have resubmitted our application to the Persimmon Community Fund.

We have also chased up our applications to MJ Church, Siemens and Wavin. These are discretionary schemes, both in terms of timing and the level of any award, and we have not yet received responses.

We will resubmitting our excellent application to the Garfield Weston Foundation once the Parish Council has formally accepted the expected offer from the Public Works Loan Board (PWLB).

So, what happens next?

With the exception of Garfield Weston, we should expect decisions on the recent and new applications by Christmas.

We are awaiting the announcement and details of the Queen Elizabeth Fund which is to open in 2027 - this is believed to be similar to the Queen Elizabeth Platinum Jubilee Fund which has recently closed.

We are continuing to monitor a number of other potential funding sources. We will continue to investigate some further opportunities, although the majority are likely to be smaller or more marginal sources of funding rather than significant contributions to the overall project.