Each year Kilkenny County Council contributes €250,000 towards the capital cost of community led cultural and amenity facilities around the county. This year 16 applications were received for a diverse range of projects across the county. The seven projects approved for funding under this year's schemes are:
1. Freshford Playground Committee
2. St Canice's Neighbourhood Hall, The Butts, Kilkenny City
3. Thomastown Scouts
4. Pil River Park, Piltown
5. Trasna Productions Ltd, Callan
6. Mooncoin Celtic, Mooncoin
7. Paulstown Development Association

Cathaoirleach, Cllr. Peter 'Chap' Cleere, congratulated the successful groups in being awarded funding, in a very competitive process, and encouraged those who did not receive an allocation this time round to reapply next year and to engage with the Council's Community Section as early as possible and take on board advice and support available.

The type of facilities being funded range from playgrounds and scout halls to cultural arts spaces. All of the applications received represent significant community commitment to rural and cultural development. Kilkenny County Council is committed to supporting such projects and communities in preparing plans and bringing new projects forward. The Council can provide advice and help groups to identify possible funding streams through the Community Section's Grant Booklet. For any community with an idea for a project the first point of contact is the Community Section.

Speaking after the meeting Michael Delahunty, Senior Executive Officer with the Community Section, Kilkenny County Council pointed out that "the successful applicants today are the groups which can now proceed to retain and improve existing local facilities and those who can create valuable new ones. The Community and Cultural Facilities Capital Scheme is an important one for Kilkenny and while it cannot fund all projects, it is responsible for the delivery of many valuable community assets throughout the county." He continued that "there will inevitably be groups disappointed with today's announcement, 9 groups were not successful on this occasion. I would ask the promoters of the unsuccessful projects to engage with the Community Section to see if there are any other funding sources available and to understand how the project can be enhanced before next year's scheme".

Queries please contact Michael Delahunty, Phone 086 0629446 email Michael.delahunty@kilkennycoco.ie