Barford's village hall and Wicklewood's playground lead 16 awards within six miles of Wymondham, worth £275,012. Only one is in the town itself.
South Norfolk Council has approved £937,334 of grants for 61 community projects. Village halls, play areas and sports clubs take most of it.
Sixteen of the awards, worth £275,012, went to places within about six miles of Wymondham. Only one is in the town itself: £13,875 for solar panels at Wymondham Baptist Church.
The decisions were made by the council’s Grants & Awards Panel on Friday 2 October. The full list is in the panel’s decision notice, which goes further than the council’s press release. The release rounds the total up to “£1 million” and names a dozen projects.
The awards near Wymondham
These are the 16 grants within about six miles of the town, largest first. Distances are straight-line from Wymondham.
| Project | Where | Award | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barford & Wramplingham Village Hall | Barford, about 4 miles north | £40,000 | Phase 2 of the hall improvement project |
| Wicklewood Playground Committee | Wicklewood, about 2 miles west | £38,756 | New play equipment, safety surfacing and works behind the village hall |
| Hingham Playing Field Association | Hingham, about 6 miles west | £32,900 | Improving and extending the “damaged, potholed and overgrown” car park at Hingham Sports Centre |
| The Woodlands Club | Tacolneston, about 5 miles south-east | £24,600 | Heating, lighting, seating, security doors, fascias, loft insulation and asbestos removal |
| Crusaders Rugby Union Football Club | Little Melton Road, Hethersett, about 4 miles north-east | £22,810 | Clubhouse roof, changing rooms, pitch reseeding and floodlights |
| Tacolneston Parish Council | Tacolneston | £14,441.50 | Groundworks for a power upgrade, a new accessible entrance, toilet flooring and fire doors |
| Tacolneston Parish Council | Tacolneston | £14,160.51 | A three-phase power supply for the village hall |
| Wymondham Baptist Church | Wymondham | £13,875 | 20 solar panels (9.2kW), an inverter and an 11.5kW battery |
| Spooner Row, Suton & Wattlefield Village Hall | Spooner Row, about 3 miles south-west | £12,461 | More solar panels, battery storage and a new outdoor community space |
| Wreningham Village Hall | Wreningham, about 3 miles south-east | £10,500 | Rooftop solar panels with battery storage |
| Tacolneston Football Club | Tacolneston | £10,388 | Re-roofing the flat-roofed changing block after water got in |
| Ketteringham Hall Cricket Club | Ketteringham, about 3 miles east | £10,320 | A pavilion extension with better showers, toilets and changing rooms |
| Great Melton Cricket Club | Great Melton, about 3 miles north | £9,000 | Replacing the artificial practice wicket used by junior members |
| Runhall Recreation Ground | Runhall, about 5 miles north-west | £8,000 | Phase 4 of the recreation ground improvement programme |
| Bunwell Village Hall | Bunwell, about 5 miles south | £7,700 | CCTV, new entrance and fire doors, and kitchen equipment |
| Gralix Hall Committee | Deopham, about 4 miles west | £5,100 | Replacing the grass and chippings car park with a hard permeable surface |
Two of the local awards carry conditions. Hingham’s car park money depends on planning permission being granted if it is needed. Ketteringham Hall Cricket Club’s depends on planning permission and on its other funding being secured.
Runhall’s request was recorded as £8,000, down from an earlier £15,000. The panel approved the lower figure in full.
The Wymondham award
The Baptist church on Queen Street asked for the solar panels and battery as part of what the notice calls its “Reducing Carbon Footprint plan”. It is the same church that opened its Canopy extension last month, with the Roots café inside.
No other group in the town itself is on the list. Wymondham’s big community project this year, the Kett’s Park soft play and café scheme, is being paid for separately, with South Norfolk Council putting in over £3m.
How the money was split
The panel shared out two funds:
- Community Action Fund: £426,298.50 to 26 projects. Four applications were refused.
- Community Facilities Grant: £511,035.51 to 35 projects. One application was refused.
Three Community Action Fund projects got the maximum £40,000:
- Alpington with Yelverton Parish Council, for a new play area
- Loddon Town Council, to renew Kitten’s Lane Play Area
- Toft Monks Community Group, for a community hub in St Margaret’s Church
Three Community Facilities Grant projects also got £40,000:
- Barford & Wramplingham Village Hall
- St Andrew’s Church, Framingham Earl, for toilets and a sink
- Tivetshall Village Hall, to resurface its car park
Elsewhere in the district, Cringleford Tennis Club got £37,000 for a new all-weather court. Poringland Parish Council got £30,000 for solar panels. Diss Rugby Club got £22,500 for a borehole and irrigation for its three pitches.
The five refused
The notice gives a reason for each refusal:
| Applicant | Asked for | Reason given |
|---|---|---|
| Community Arts Club CIC, art sessions at Bunwell Village Hall | £1,200 | Doubts over long-term sustainability; other funding may be available |
| Diss Community Partnership CIC, a Community Exchange Network pilot | £22,000 | Not enough information to show the project’s value |
| Loddon Town Council, extra youth sessions | £15,000 | Doubts over long-term sustainability; other funding may be available |
| The Kindness Company Norfolk Ltd, a programme for care leavers | £7,050 | Not enough information to show the project’s value |
| Norton Athletic Football Club, pitch irrigation | £30,583 | Not enough information to show the project’s value |
The notice says council officers can discuss applications with unsuccessful groups.
Who applies
Groups cannot apply to these two funds directly. Under the Community Action Fund rules, the local district councillor puts an application in on a group’s behalf, for between £1,000 and £40,000.
That means some panel members were the named applicants for projects in their own wards. The minutes record that each one declared it, answered questions, and took no part in the discussion or decision on those items. The panel’s chair, Councillor Kim Carsok, was the applicant for the four Tacolneston awards, among others.
What it means for you
If your village hall, club or playground is on the list, the money is approved but not necessarily spent. Some awards are subject to planning permission, a lease, or other funding coming in first.
Both funds are now closed. The notice says the panel will meet again on 12 February to consider the £62,666 left in the Community Action Fund. (The notice prints the year as 2026, which has already passed, so we read it as February 2027.) Talk to your district councillor before then if your group has a project.
There is a smaller grant open now. The councils’ Winter Pressures Grant pays up to £500 to community groups, faith groups, charities and parish or town councils for winter help. That can mean warm spaces, Christmas hampers, free or cheap food and drink, or essentials such as blankets and baby supplies.
- Applications close at midnight on 30 October.
- All bids are considered together in the first week of November, not first come, first served.
- Groups will hear by 6 November, according to the council’s announcement.
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