CHARITIES, clubs and voluntary groups across the Forest are set to receive up to £2,500 each in grants to help deliver services for the local community.

The Forest Council has allocated £19,800 to 17 local groups, with a focus on reinstating community activity that was available pre-pandemic.

The grants will be used in various ways from improving facilities at sports clubs to providing a greenhouse for a community garden, as well as funding for a local arts festival.

Cabinet member for communities, Cllr Paul Hiett, said: “Throughout the last couple of years, we have realised just how important community organisations are in supporting people’s health and wellbeing, reducing social isolation and bringing communities together.

“We have some amazing community groups throughout the Forest of Dean and it has been great to help them out with these grants that will hopefully make a big difference in improving the services that they offer.

“We did receive applications for more than three times the amount of funding we had available. This has meant that we were unable to support every application and led to some difficult decisions. However, we will be offering further advice and guidance to those which were unsuccessful this time around.”

Local arts group Canopy have secured a £2,500 grant to help fund a community festival in Newent.

Newnham Archery Club will recieve £1,500 to purchase portable targets, while Cinderford Bowling Club will get £1200 to fund a step, to increase accessibility of the bowling green.

Bream Amateurs Football Club secured £1,000 to buy new fencing, as did Bream Cricket Club to improve access at their ground, and Wyedean Canoe Club to purchase new boats.

Disability activities club Together We Can will receive £1,500 to purchase equipment, as will community centre Sedbury Space and Mid Wyedean Churches Redbrook Youth Group, who will use the funds for sessional staffing and activities.

Cinderford charity CANDI Youth Space secured £1,250 to buy a sofa and bean bags, and Lydbrook Memorial Hall will get £1,380 to buy a cooker and support activities.

Voluntary group Friends of Pan Tod will receive £1,000 to buy signage, a strimmer and mower, as will Yorkley Village Garden to fund equipment and training and the Clearwell Recreation Ground Committee for fencing around their new growing spaces.

Smaller grants of £500 or less will go to Spike and Shoes Circuits, Parkside & Friends and Wilde Earth Journeys CIC, to contribute towards rent and equipment, a new greenhouse and project development respectively.