Melbourn Dynamos, Fen Drayton Bowls Club, Gamlingay Leisure, Graveley village hall and Duxford's wildflower meadow share £15,250 in the latest Community Chest round.

Eight village clubs, charities and parish councils across South Cambridgeshire are sharing £15,250 in the district council’s latest round of Community Chest and Biodiversity Grants, announced on 13 August 2026. The money pays for a walking football pilot in Melbourn, repairs to the bowling green at Fen Drayton, gym equipment in Gamlingay, chairs for Graveley’s village hall, family support sessions, and three planting schemes in Duxford and Gamlingay. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 13 August 2026)

Where the money goes

Community Chest grants, £9,250 across five awards:

  • Melbourn Dynamos Football Club, £2,000. The grassroots club, which the council says has 367 members and more than 20 years behind it, is launching a walking football programme. The grant covers pitch hire and keeps the cost to players down through a 30-week pilot aimed at inactivity, loneliness and people with long-term health conditions.
  • Fen Drayton Bowls Club, £2,000. For repairs to the ageing timber edging around the outdoor green, which the club says will improve safety and the quality of play. The club runs both outdoor and indoor bowls.
  • TLC: Talk, Listen, Change, £2,000. The charity, which provides emotional wellbeing and relationship support for children, young people and families, will use it for its “Bridging the Gap” programme for families where neurodiversity is present or suspected.
  • Graveley Parish Council, £1,250. Forty new stackable chairs for the village hall, the parish’s only public meeting space, as the last stage of a wider refurbishment.
  • Gamlingay Leisure, £2,000. The charity runs a community gym and multi-use games area serving Gamlingay and the villages around it. The grant goes towards replacing two heavily used cross-trainers.

Biodiversity grants, £6,000 across three awards:

  • Duxford Parish Council, £2,000. A native chalkland wildflower meadow at Duxford Recreation Ground, with more than 50 native species, in one of the village’s most visible public spaces.
  • Friends of Duxford School, £2,000. Mature native holly and hawthorn hedging along the school boundary.
  • Gamlingay Parish Council, £2,000. Two mature flowering cherry trees in the village playground, chosen to give shade in hot weather as well as blossom for pollinators.
Bar chart of the eight grants: five Community Chest awards to Melbourn Dynamos FC, Fen Drayton Bowls Club, TLC Talk Listen Change and Gamlingay Leisure at 2,000 pounds each and Graveley Parish Council at 1,250 pounds, plus three biodiversity grants of 2,000 pounds each to Duxford Parish Council, Friends of Duxford School and Gamlingay Parish Council
Who gets what in the August 2026 round. Graphic by South Cambs Online, from the council's announcement.
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Cllr Dr Lisa Redrup, the council’s lead cabinet member for healthy communities, said the projects “demonstrate the incredible difference that community organisations, volunteers and parish councils make to people’s lives across South Cambridgeshire”, pointing to “creating opportunities for people to get active and tackle loneliness, to supporting families, improving valued community spaces and boosting biodiversity”. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, 13 August 2026)

How the scheme works

The Community Chest is the district council’s small-grants pot for voluntary and community groups, charities, community interest companies and public bodies working in South Cambridgeshire. The council has £64,890 in the main Community Chest stream for 2026-27, and applications are decided at meetings of its Grants Advisory Committee. Parish and town councils with fewer than 200 registered electors can apply to the main stream, which is why a village the size of Graveley qualifies; the biodiversity stream is open to parish and town councils of any size, though the council’s page currently lists it as closed to new applications. (South Cambridgeshire District Council, Community Chest Grants)

This is the second announced round of the summer. In June the council said £27,295 had gone to grassroots projects across the district.

What it means for you

  • If you run a club or group, the main fund is open. Projects must meet a local need, leave a legacy, be open to all, and support at least one of the council’s aims: healthy and active communities, inclusive communities, skills, or the natural environment. Applications need a constitution or mission statement, latest accounts, a quote for the work, a safeguarding policy, a recent bank statement, and a supportive note from a district councillor. The council also asks applicants to show they considered a greener option when buying equipment. Details and the application form are on the council’s Community Chest page.
  • In Melbourn, the walking football pilot is a new option for anyone who wants gentle regular exercise; the club, not the council, will publish session times.
  • In Duxford, the recreation ground meadow is planned as more than 50 native chalkland species; the parish council is leading it, so its meetings and notices are where the timing will appear.

For the rest of the week’s council and planning news, see our South Cambridgeshire planning news page and the Greater Cambridge Local Plan consultation, which closes on 25 September.