Newton Abbot community groups receive grants worth more than £6,000 from Town Council

Newton Abbot Town Council has awarded grants worth more than £6,000 to good causes in the local community.

Those to benefit include Space Youth Service, Newton Abbot Seed Library, Green Futures Newton Abbot, Newton Town Youth Football Club and
HomeStart Teignbridge. The grants ranged in size from £300 to £2,000 with the total amount coming in at £6,146. They were made at a meeting of the authority’s Finance and Audit Committee, held at Newton’s Place. One of the beneficiaries, Andrew Rothery of Green Futures Newton Abbot, said his group’s £850 financial boost would help fund a town-wide pesticides amnesty following a successful trial run in Bradley Barton. He praised the Town Council’s stance on environmental matters citing its appointment of a Green Spaces Officer, the ban on pesticides for weed control and its climate emergency declaration. Thanking members for the grant and their support of green initiatives he said: It really puts Newton Abbot one the map as an eco-town. Newton Abbot is a leading council in the UK.’ Committee Chair and former Mayor, Cllr David Corney-Walker, declared an
interest in environmental matters because, as a bee-keeper, he was ‘deeply concerned’ about the decline in insect numbers, particularly pollinators.
‘An insect-free future is no future at all,’ he told the meeting. Expressing his thoughts about all five grants he added: ‘We are very aware that the money we are awarding is council tax payers’ money and it is our absolute responsibility to ensure it is invested wisely in our community. ‘Tonight we have offered support to a wide range of good causes, knowing it will create positive ripples and ultimately yield much more than the £6,000 we
have shared. ‘And it’s not a case of Newton Abbot Town Council saying ‘yes’ to every application. We scrutinise the requests very carefully, sometimes having to respectfully decline the application or perhaps requesting more information so that we can make an informed decision.
‘Our community would be much the poorer without volunteers and its good causes and it remains an honour and pleasure to assist where we can.’
Further grant applications will be assessed later this year.