Thousands for West Berks community buildings from Vibrant Villages funding from Greenham Common Trust and West Berkshire Council

Keeping score during cricket matches will be clearer and easier thanks to a £2,000 grant for Sulhamstead and Ufton Cricket Club.

Members are celebrating as this money, awarded through the Vibrant Villages funding scheme, will go towards a new electronic scoreboard for the next season.

The club is just one of several local community groups that has benefited from using the scheme, run by Greenham Common Trust in partnership with West Berkshire Council.

Together with the council, Greenham Common Trust has been instrumental in assisting people involved with community facilities in the rural areas of West Berkshire, since 2007. Both contribute a budget to aid small capital projects in communities.

The scheme is designed to maintain key economic and social infrastructure essential to village vitality and vibrancy.

Other successful awards in the latest grant round included Brimpton CofE Primary School, which was awarded £3,000 towards improvements to its Early Years Foundation Stage outdoor area and playing field.

Speen Parish Council was given £1,014 to complete the refurbishment of the war memorial, and Sutton Hall, in Stockcross was awarded £2,300 to go towards new dividing doors for the village hall.

Chris Boulton, chief executive at Greenham Common Trust, said: “We are delighted to collaborate with West Berkshire Council on the long-running Vibrant Villages initiative which is an ideal way for rural communities to obtain financial assistance for their small capital projects”

Grants are awarded two to three times a year. The next grant round will be in October 2015, and the closing date for applications is Wednesday 30 September.

Community groups should be aware that preference will be given to those who have provided some or all of their matched funding through community activities. The motivation behind this is to ensure that the grants aid sustainable projects and that this is more likely to be achieved when there is clear evidence of real commitment and support from within the community.

Anyone wanting to apply should go online via Greenham Common Trust’s web portal www.findmeagrant.org, and ensure that relevant criteria is met. More details can be found on the Trust’s website under Vibrant Villages. Applications may be for a minimum grant of £500 up to a maximum of £5,000.  Grants are usually subject to match funding being raised by the applicant.