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2026 Festival Community Grants

A Big Thank You!

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We are thrilled to announce the results of this year’s Castle Bytham Midsummer Festival community grants!

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Thanks to all our supporters, volunteers, attendees, sponsors, and exhibitors, you all made this happen. Because of your support, we received 14 applications from fantastic local projects, groups, and organisations across our community.

 

We’ve awarded funding to 13 brilliant causes, with 6 receiving an extra boost above their original request to help their crucial work go even further. We are also currently gathering a few more details on 1 final application before making a final decision.

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🏛️ Castle Bytham Village Hall

  • The Project: Essential exterior drainage, wall repointing, and moving the oil tank to tackle severe damp.

  • Who Benefits: Village residents and everyone using the hall.

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⛪ St James’ Parish Church

  • The Project: Urgent roof repairs to the Vestry and North Transept to fix a major leak.

  • Who Benefits: The church building, congregation, and historic furnishings.

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🛒 Bythams Community Shop

  • The Project: Installing additional solar panels and a storage battery to cut rising electricity costs.

  • Who Benefits:  The shop’s customers, its long-term financial sustainability, and the broader community as a whole (beyond just Castle Bytham residents). 

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🏫 Friends of Bythams School

  • The Project: Replacement roof tiles and timber weather shields to help re-erect three gifted arctic cabins.

  • Who Benefits: Schoolchildren, creating dedicated spaces for learning interventions and educational activities.

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🌳 The Bythams Woodland Trust (BWT)

  • The Project: Emergency repairs and high-spec steel chain replacements for the clatter bridge (the "wibbly wobbly bridge").

  • Who Benefits: Woodland visitors, keeping the bridge safe, open, and fun for all.

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🌲 Clipsham Yew Tree Avenue Trust (CYTAT)

  • The Project: Publishing a 40-page history book about the Avenue and funding advanced topiary training for volunteers.

  • Who Benefits: Local residents, funders, visitors, and hard-working volunteers.

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📰 Glenside News

  • The Project: Covering the gap between rising print costs and ad revenue to keep the print and online magazine distributed free to all households.

  • Who Benefits: Households in the Glenside area.

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🎤 Castle Bytham Youth Club

  • The Project: Purchasing a dedicated speaker and karaoke machine.

  • Who Benefits: Local children attending monthly youth club nights.

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🎁 Castle Bytham Children’s Christmas Party

  • The Project: Full funding to host the annual Christmas party and provide a personalised gift for every village child free of charge.

  • Who Benefits: Local children and families.

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🎭 CB (Candler-Barratt) Productions

  • The Project: Staging, production costs, and keeping ticket prices accessible for Panto 2027.

  • Who Benefits: Local performers, crew, and theatre-goers.

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🚜 Stamford & District Young Farmers

  • The Project: Buying a branded gazebo, promotional banners, and subsidising annual youth membership fees.

  • Who Benefits: Young people building leadership and practical skills.

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🏕️ 2nd Stamford Town Scouts

  • The Project: Supporting fundraising efforts for a brand-new scout hut.

  • Who Benefits: Young members aged 4–18 and those currently on the waiting list.

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⛪ St Stephen's Church, Careby

  • The Project: Replacing an inefficient 35-year-old heating boiler.

  • Who Benefits: The congregation, visitors, and historic artefacts.

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