COMMUNITY groups across Bridgwater are celebrating after £40,000 of funding was distributed by Sedgemoor District Council.

The council decided £8,000 of grant funding and £32,000 of RLT3 funding at its recent Grants Committee meeting.

The following grants were awarded:

• £2,500 to Mark Moor Bowling Club for extension to facilities in order to lengthen the main hall for short mat bowling, improve kitchen facilities, toilet access, enlarge the changing room, improve storage and improve disabled toilets.

• £1,520 to Bridgwater College Academy Parent Funding Association to help fund breakfast toast to ensure each child has access to breakfast before starting the school day.

• £500 to Olivia Cox who is representing South West Girl guiding and Somerset at an international trip to Canada.

• £225 to Jennifer Marshall who will be competing at Acrogymnastics for Monarchs GC and has been selected to compete as part of the team representing the UK in Germany.

• £2,500 to Kings of Wessex Parent Teachers Association to help the school equestrian team compete at the national school equestrian association championships to be held in October.

• £1,000 to Exmoor Search and Rescue team who are primarily a volunteer organisation which assists police in locating lost or missing persons and recovering the injured or ill from remote locations over area extending from the River Parrett to Bude.

The grant will be used to purchase 12 sets of flood response Personal Protective Equipment. This will allow a further 12 team members to enter flood water and assist in the recovery of people trapped in properties affected by floodwater.

• £200 to the Friends of Wembdon Road Cemetery to produce a 32-page guide book about the cemetery. This will promote the history of the cemetery and those buried there but also promote the Friends group and encourage new volunteers to come forward to help.

There were also three applications for RLT3 funds (developer contributions held by Sedgemoor District Council for Outdoor Sport) approved:-

• £7,000 to Middlezoy Parish Council to resurface the existing car park (alongside the Village Hall) and provide appropriate facilities for emergency service vehicles and disabled parking.

• £20,000 towards outdoor gym equipment suitable for all ages at Danesboro Road or Holford Road in Durleigh, Bridgwater. The project cost will also include the construction of a link footpath and wear pads. The project will be going to tender in the last fortnight.

• £5,600 to Eastover Park Bowls Club towards installation of central heating in the pavilion and erection of two canopies either side of the pavilion.

For details of all the small grants awarded by Sedgemoor District Council in this, and previous, budget years and details of the 16/17 scheme please visit: http://www.sedgemoor.gov.uk/grants.