18 January 2023
Provisional award of £1.25 million made to the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival
The Hinkley Point C (HPC) Community Fund Awards Panel has made a provisional award of £1.25 million to the Bridgwater Guy Fawkes Carnival charity, as part of the first phase of their ‘Home of Carnival Project’. The award is contingent on confirmation of a further £3 million of match funding as part of the Bridgwater Town Deal, which is expected to be awarded in March 2023.
The award reflects the extraordinary reach that the Bridgwater-based carnival and its associated clubs have into communities most affected by the construction of Hinkley Point C, and will help ensure that this cultural phenomenon has a long-term future.
The first phase of the project will see the regeneration of their main site and the construction of five modern sheds that will be used by the Carnival Committee and four member clubs. It will include a display of the history of carnival as well as storage of the famous cart built for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in London.
A full announcement will be made once the match funding is confirmed. If successful it will mean the total awarded from the HPC Community Fund to date will be over £7 million to over 200 local community groups, charities and organisations in the area most affected by the build.