A new fund to kickstart community Christmas celebrations has been launched in a County Durham town.

Spennymoor Town Council has unveiled a Christmas Community Chest, an early festive gift for groups and organisations keen to stage events and activities over the festive period. 

Applications to the new fund could be for parties, food banks, toy appeals, shows or any other form of social gathering – and the application process is easy, with just a single form needing to be completed.

Town Mayor, Councillor Derek Taylor, said: “It won’t be long now until Christmas and as a local community council, we always want to make sure that there is funding available for anyone wanting to enhance things for their friends and neighbours around Spennymoor.

“The Christmas Community Chest is our way of bringing a little bit of festive cheer to the town and hopefully helping some people enjoy Christmas that little bit more, and I encourage anyone wanting to put on an event to get their applications in quickly to avoid disappointment.”

The fund is open to applications from any constituted not-for-profit group or organisation based in Spennymoor or delivering services and/or activities to people in the town.

To make the process as simple and streamlined as possible, there is no upper limit on the amount that can be requested, and groups that have already received funding from the Council this year can still apply to the Christmas Community Chest fund.

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Council clerk Ian Morris, said: “The application process has been made as easy as possible, enabling people in the town to bid now and secure the funding they need well in advance of December.

“Everyone should have something to look forward to at Christmas and Spennymoor is fortunate to have an incredibly generous community with a great deal of civic pride.”

All grant applications to the new fund will go before Spennymoor Town Council for approval, so applicants are encouraged to submit forms as soon as possible.