• Swindon & Wiltshire Social
• Tuesday March 3 2026

Bristol Temple Quarter announces first community fund recipients

The recipients of Bristol Temple Quarter’s 25/26 Community Fund have been announced, with a total of £45,000 being awarded to 17 projects making a difference in and around the Temple Quarter area.

Organisations were invited to apply for grants of up to £5,000 to support new activities or build on existing work that contributes to the inclusive growth ambitions of the city centre regeneration project

To be eligible, applicants had to show a clear connection to Bristol Temple Quarter in their proposal.

Following this first round of funding, the BTQ LLP said it hopes to encourage private sector partners and developers to contribute and ensure the fund’s long-term sustainability.

Jane Vivian, director of inclusive and Sustainable Growth at Bristol Temple Quarter, said: “A core focus of the inclusive and sustainable growth work at Bristol Temple Quarter is helping to empower local communities so that in turn, they can support local people to benefit from the change and opportunities that come with a major regeneration scheme.

“We were so pleased to see such a range of amazing projects and initiatives come forward.”

Helen Godwin, Mayor of the West of England, said: “By investing in local community ideas and grassroots projects, these new grants will help ensure that the benefits of the Bristol Temple Quarter regeneration can be seen and felt across the West.”

The projects which have been awarded funding are:

Tier 1 (up to £5,000)

• Bristol Bike Project CIC – contribution towards the Fix-A-Bike free repair workshops.
• Bristol Youth Connect – culturally tailored support for ethnic-minority young people offering employment sessions which build confidence – helping them to benefit from opportunities in BTQ.
• Coexist Community Kitchen CIC – weekly group for local residents to learn to cook on an outdoor fire, connecting with nature and community in the Trinity Centre Garden.
• Easton Christian Family Centre – volunteering programme supporting the development of confidence and employability of local people who volunteer at the community cafe.
• Noods Levels CIC – 30 hours of DJ workshops delivered with 1625 Independent People and hosted at Motion (in St Philip’s Marsh) – focus on those facing housing instability.
• Smart Works – youth outreach to help young women to access coaching and clothing support helping to improve confidence, employability and fair pathways to work.
• Somali Kitchen – working with women and their families in a safe environment in Redcliffe, where they can enjoy friendship, health and well-being and cultural-sharing activities and explore skills and employment opportunities.
• St Luke’s Church – a safe space for parents from diverse backgrounds to foster connections, build friendships, and break down barriers to help build an inclusive community.

Tier 2 (Up to £1,000)

• Step Together Volunteering – contribution towards the ‘Get Growing’ allotment project.
• Friends of Hannah More – community swimming project (running Spring-Summer 2026).
• Sisu Therapeutic Services CIC – A youth-led project exploring intergenerational trauma through facilitated creative enquiry, helping young people build confidence, voice, emotional understanding and influence over wellbeing needs.
• Graft Community CIC – Three creative intergenerational workshop sessions at the Safe Ouse community building, connecting young people from the Dings with older community members and with newer residents from the Temple Quarter development.  Artwork created through these workshops will be displayed at The Dings to help enhance community spaces.
• Travelling Light Theatre Company – Focused on children and young people who have little or no access to arts and cultural activities, the project will deliver holiday activities that bring children and families together to take part in creative activities (play, craft, drama), to share healthy food, have fun and socialise in Barton Hill.
• ADHD Bristol Collective – Peer-led support group for adults with ADHD and Autism strengthening community wellbeing, combatting loneliness and helping to address barriers to work or services.  The topics covered in the sessions will help individuals with building a toolkit of skills and coping strategies to support themselves in employment, confidence building, and understand themselves better.
• Bristol Food Network – Delivery of a roundtable event for charities, education providers, local food businesses , young people and under-represented communities to meet and co-create solutions for more good work within Bristol’s food sector.
• Interculture – Delivery of multiple strength focused workshops for neurodivergent entrepreneurs from marginalised communities, focusing on strategies, reasonable adjustments, access to work, self-care, local business support and pathways to sustainable business growth
• Museum of Totterdown/Totterdown Area Community Association – Creation of art works related to historical events at various locations in the Temple Quarter area (and surrounds), each revealing insights to historical events that will be creatively expressed in situ in collaboration with local residents and local workers.

Bristol Temple Quarter is being brought forward by a partnership of Homes England, Bristol City Council and the West of England Combined Authority, who came together in 2024 to form the BTQ LLP.

The scheme aims to regenerate 135 hectares in central Bristol to deliver 10,000 homes, thousands of new jobs, and an estimate £1.6 billion annual boost to the regional economy.