GRANTS worth more than £25,000 have been made by Melksham Area Board to community groups, clubs and organisations.

They include a £4,000 grant to Melksham Without Parish Council to provide a new footpath at Hornchurch Road and £4,874 to Melksham Town Council to buy grounds maintenance equipment.

Melksham Without Parish Council also received £573 for a kissing gate at Shaw Playing Field.

Wiltshire West District Scout Association was awarded £500 towards the formation of a new Scout group to serve Whitley, Shaw and Atworth.

Young Melksham was awarded £740 towards a new pool table and sports equipment and also £2,513 towards the continuation of the youth club for 13 to 18-year-olds, and Poulshot Village Trust £940 towards a rights of way accessibility project.

Larkrise Community Farm was given £1,500 towards a sensory classroom project, while Broughton Gifford Cricket Club received £2,250 towards the purchase of a community lawnmower.

The Area Board also awarded a number of Youth and Wellbeing grants, including £2,980 to Carer Support Wiltshire towards its Community Connections project.

Up to £630 of this was approved pending the award of the 2018/19 budget.

Melksham and District Seniors received £2,000 towards an Older Persons Health and Wellbeing Programme for age-friendly Melksham.

Melksham Baptist Church also received £500 towards providing meals for the elderly and vulnerable.

AFC Melksham Disabled received £1,170 towards running costs and for new equipment.