Each Suffolk County Councillor has a small Locality budget, to be spent at their discretion on things that benefit their own community. (There are rules – you can’t use it for entertaining, for example). The sum is dictated by the number of the electorate: the budget for Woodbridge was £8,630 a year – £34,520 for the last electoral cycle.
I try to spread the money to cover as many different groups and needs as possible. Over the last four years therefore I have given grants for – or towards – the following:
Farlingaye School: *Playground canopies
Woodbridge Town Pastors: *Bicycles, *Training
Woodbridge Cycling Festival: *Materials, first aid cover etc
St Mary’s Woodbridge: Repairs to *Tower and to *South side of the church wall
Deben Swimming Club: *Poolside kit for competitions
Woodbridge RUFC: *Indoor activity area improvements
Woodbridge Town FC Under 8 Team: *Waterproof jackets
Woodbridge Bowls Club: *Awning for the club house
Deben Players: *Costume store
Woodbridge Youth Centre: *Generator
Wickham Market & District Family Carers Support Group: *Training for respite care volunteers
Homestart Suffolk Coastal *Laptop
Woodbridge Riverside Trust: *Feasibility study, Whisstocks project
Just 42: Materials for the Graffiti Project: *Hardstanding for Peterhouse Green
1st Woodbridge Scout Group: *Mower
The Princes Trust: *Flowers/ pots for exterior of Woodbridge Youth Club
YP@ Woodbridge: *Cooking equipment, TV/DVD & Disco/Karaoke unit
Woodbridge Library: *Blackout Blinds; *Reading challenge – balloon modeller, & prizes; *Jonathan Allan illustrator to talk and draw with kids
Woodbridge Town Centre Management: *Walking maps of Woodbridge; *Printed jute bags
Woodbridge Town: *Bollards for Hasketon Road; *27 Grit bins; *Thoroughfare Bike racks ; *Bench for Petanque area Kingston Field; *repairs to Elmhurst Park wall/shed; *Funding for Jubilee Pavilion; *Bench at Hasketon/Grundisburgh road junction
Woodbridge Community Council: *Solar panels Woodbridge Community hall
Tide Mill Trust (by their earnest request) match funding for *renovation of the Tide Mill