COMMUNITIES are receiving a major boost for their fund raising projects after Suffolk Coastal decided to hand out more than £75,000.

Richard Smith

COMMUNITIES are receiving a major boost for their fund raising projects after Suffolk Coastal decided to hand out more than £75,000.

A total of 17 organisations ranging from Woodbridge and Felixstowe to Bruisyard and Snape will receive grants.

The decision by the district council to award money for improvements for village halls and community groups could also trigger donations from other bodies including the National Lottery.

Woodbridge receives the largest share of the money but there are also substantial grants in Bruisyard and Sutton.

Mary Neale, cabinet member for leisure and countryside, said: ''Every year aid is given to deserving groups and schemes that use the grants either to maintain existing facilities or set up exciting new projects, both of which will certainly have a positive impact on the lives of people who live in the district.

''The grants help attract the attention of larger sponsors such as the National Lottery, and they give the council the opportunity to recognise and support the enormous amount of time, thought and effort that the people behind these grant applications, many of whom are volunteers, invest in making a difference to the community.''

Woodbridge Tide Mill, which was recently refused a Heritage Lottery Fund grant of almost £1million, is to receive £10,000.

This will go towards repairing the mill's grindstones, protecting the mill against erosion and installing a viewing area, mitre gates and interactive attractions.

There is also £10,000 for installation and glazing at the main and small halls on Sutton recreation ground, near Woodbridge, and £10,000 towards a new village hall on parish land in Bruisyard.

The other grants are: Bredfield village hall, £6,000; Bromeswell village hall, £1,720; Easton and Letheringham village hall, £4,000; Wenhaston village hall, £5,000; Felixstowe Old People's Welfare Association, £3,000; Rushmere Heath Heritage Project, £3,000; Snape Bowls Club, £374 and Sudbourne Cricket Club, £4,000.

The council has also decided it would like to give grants to the following projects when they meet certain conditions: Felixstowe Youth Development Group, £5,000; Colneis division headquarters of the Girl Guides, £5,000; Great Glemham village hall, £2,000, and in Woodbridge the Deben Yacht Club, £2,500; Deben Rowing Club, £5,000 and Deben Centre Watersports, £3,400.