WELLINGTON Town Council agreed at its monthly meeting on Monday to make a grant of £2,500 to Wellington Carnival Committee.

The council had deferred a decision at its previous meeting because: “Members were concerned that as the Carnival Committee made donations to charities, any grant from the council might then be an indirect grant to those charities.

“There were also concerns over the financial viability of the event. A decision was deferred pending a meeting with representatives of the Carnival Committee.

“The meeting has now taken place and those members present were satisfied that any money given by the council would be used specifically towards the cost of the event and not passed on to any charity.”

The council also agreed to an application for a grant of £500 from Wellington and District Churches Together towards the cost of the 2017 Big Tent event – this is £100 less than last year.

This is a children’s and youth holiday Bible club that aims to present Christianity and the stories of the Bible to young people in a fun, action-packed way. The event has been supported by the town council in the past.

An application for a grant of £750 from the Genesis Youth Theatre towards the cost of equipment, ‘enrichment’ days and specialist coaches was also decided.

The council last supported an application for funds from the theatre group in October 2015 when £750 was granted for replacing tab tracks, curtains, costs and light and sound equipment. It also helped toward providing specialist make-up workshops.

At the beginning of the financial year, the council made £15,000 available in its grants budget.

Councillors were told at Monday’s meeting that £10,078 was left in the 2017-18 budget.