More carnival cash handed out (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

More carnival cash handed out

12:00pm Friday 1st February 2013 in News

MORE cash has been handed out to good causes and community groups in Malmesbury following last summer’s successful carnival.

Grants totalling almost £9,000 were awarded late last year. But another round of applications has seen thousands more shared out.

Among the grants are £1,080 to Malmesbury Victoria FC for water pumps and a pitch decompactor.

The club, which has not had a home game since the beginning of December because of floods and snow, The decompactor was vital to help drain the pitch, explained club secretary Julie Exton.

“At the moment the top two or three inches are like blancmange, but under that it is dry and crumbly earth.”

“The team are all crying out for a game,” she said.

But it was not clear when it would happen with the rivers already rising due to rain this week.

The pumps were also important to keep the worst of the water out of the clubhouse.

“You just never know when it is going to flood again. Last time it cost a lot of money to hire a pump, but without it we lose the clubhouse,” she added.

Among the other carnival grants were £,1,500 to St Joseph’s Primary School for a welly store, £600 towards a public defibrillator at White Lion Park and £600 to help with running costs for the town’s kite festival in July.

Little Somerford Parish Hall was given £1,000 to improve its disabled toilet, Malmesbury Crricket Club won £500 to build a hardstanding and Malmesbury Guides were given £425 to buy 10 climbing harnesses.