I am writing this at the beginning of August, and I do hope that despite the heat, you will have had an enjoyable month when the routines of life are somewhat changed for most.

This month, I wanted to tell you about the support Woodbridge Town Council can provide through grants and other financial support

For 2026/27, the Council’s budget for “Town Support” is just over £150,000. £50,000 of this will be spent by our Amenities and Climate Committees to improve the resilience and enjoyment of parks & public spaces in Woodbridge. Another £50,000 is set aside for our priorities including youth, the Tide Mill, Comms and international twinning. £25,000 is set aside for grants and £20,000 to support town events.

Our first round of grants was completed in June and just over £13,800 was paid out to the following organisations:

• 2nd Woodbridge (St Mary’s) Guide Unit – funding to provide camping equipment

• 3rd Woodbridge (St Mary’s) Brownie Pack – funding to provide craft materials

• Woodbridge Ambient Music Festival

• Opera for Woodbridge

• Woodbridge Festival of Art and Music

• Woodbridge In Bloom – funding to provide watering and floral displays

• Woodbridge Rotary Club -organisation of the Christmas Carol Service

• The Galley – funding to support the promotion of The Asparagus and Strawberry Festival.

This shows a wide diversity in the range of support the Town gives, from £110 to just over £3,000.

Our second round for the submission of applications closes on 30th September. You do not need to be a charity or a voluntary organisation to apply, but you need to demonstrate why you need a grant, its purpose and the likelihood that you can deliver the outcome applied for. A full set of criteria can be found on our Town Council website.

But grants are just one aspect of our support. At our last Council meeting, Paul Finch, Chair and Founder of Community Tech Hub based in Grundisburgh, came to Council setting out the plans to launch a similar hub in Woodbridge. The Town Council voted unanimously to provide support of £2,260 to defray some of the startup costs. The hub will be there to provide help for seniors with online issues, and the money came from our £5,000 seniors’ budget.

Woodbridge Town Council is there to support anyone wanting to make a contribution to the Town. A word of warning, we do unfortunately have limited funds so there is always a risk that your project is too big for us, or that the demands we face mean that we have to take some difficult decisions.

But do please come forward.

Councillor Nigel Phipps

Mayor of Woodbridge