Dartmouth Town Council is offering local charities and community groups the chance to apply for bigger grants to help townsfolk in need during the COVID-19 crisis.

The authority will also fast track grant requests to ensure the money is available as quickly as possible in these unprecedented times.

The council has streamlined its grant application process in response to the increased need for financial help from local charities and community organisations.

The limit for minor grants has been increased from £250 to £500 as the demand for help has massively increased due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

Cllr Graham Evans, finance committee chairman, said “In these exceptional circumstances, we felt there was a need to increase the upper limit of minor grants.

“We wanted to make the grant awarding procedure as expedient as possible, while still adhering to council rules.

“We have setup a process, whereby applications can be approved by the finance committee via email. This will streamline the whole process for applying for a grant and get much needed funds to the organisations that need it as soon as possible”.

Charities and organisations in need of financial support are invited to apply for a grant using the council’s official form.

The request will then be fast tracked, and the finance committee will circulate it via email, as all council and committee meetings are currently suspended.

Minor grants are available to charitable, voluntary and community organisations based in Dartmouth. The council cannot consider individual requests.

Application forms can be obtained by emailing a request to the finance officer at [email protected]