Projects

An award of £200 was provided to St Alphege Church in August 2025 to assist with the creation of a small nature friendly garden at the rear of the main church building in the High Street. The garden is designed to encourage wildlife and biodiversity and will be open to the local community and visiting public.

In July 2025 an award of £880 was granted to The Friends of West Cliff Bank to help fund the supply and installation of an information and interpretation notice board. The board is sited at the entrance to the access path onto the newly created nature conservation area skirting the Whitstable and Seasalter Golf Club below West Cliff.

In February 2025, major sponsorship of £5,000 was donated to stage the very popular Whitstable Harbour & Boat Show on 9th August 2025. The Show is a non-profit making community event showcasing Whitstable’s maritime heritage. Many local organisations and charities, with links to sea faring activities and the coastal environment, attend the Show to promote their products and activities and provide free entertainment to the visiting public.

In April 2024 a grant of £3,500 was awarded to the Far Skate Foundation for the installation of a sensory room at their Academy on the John Wilson Business Park in Whitstable. The Academy is the first and only professional skateboard design and build college in the UK. It provides alternative education for post 16 young people who have a range of mental health issues, especially anxiety and depression. A purpose built sensory room has been an important addition to this very special and thriving learning center.

In December 2023 a grant of £3,600 was awarded to the Horsebridge Arts Centre to help fund improvements to their reception and display area. This improvement project provides them with more space to sell local merchandise and display information for visitors, promoting the town’s many attractions and facilities.

A Grant of £5,000 was awarded to Whitstable Maritime in July 2023 to assist with the long-term restoration of the 1906 Whitstable built Oyster Yawl the “Gamecock”. This boat has been nationally recognised by National Historic Ships as having specific significance, being a fine example of the country’s fishing heritage. This award has helped pay for the supply and installation of a new oak stern post which had rotted through. The aim is to get the boat seaworthy to facilitate the education of children in the sailing experience.

A £5,000 grant was awarded to the CT5 People’s Forum to fund “Wild About Whitstable Week” in June 2023. This is an annual event promoting the preservation of the town’s public green spaces and the importance of these natural habitats and dependant wildlife. The event included guided walks, talks and the engagement of children in projects related to the environment.

In May 2023 an award of £300 was granted to Timescapes Kent to help fund an educational project focussing on some of the town’s important past industries.

Following a request from a local resident in May 2023, the two public benches outside the Relate Shop in Harbour Street were refurbished at a cost of £200.

This project was instigated by the Whitstable Improvement Trust to help preserve and mark the location of the last oyster ground boundary post in existence on the town’s foreshore. Managed by the Trust and undertaken in partnership with Canterbury City Council, The Whitstable Oyster Company, Timescapes Kent and the Whitstable Museum, two information boards have been provided at a cost of £1,100 to explain the past use and importance of the boundary markers.

In April 2022, Whitstable Junior School was granted a sum of £5,000 as part funding, in partnership with other benefactors, to install a modern all-weather sport and play area estimated at a total cost of £67,200. The new facility is for use by the pupils of the school as well as other local participating organisations. This grant, in its entirety, was paid from a legacy bequeathed to the Whitstable Improvement Trust by Rosemary Rose, a one-time teacher and local resident.

Image courtesy of the Junior School

In December 2021 a grant of £1,000 was awarded to a consortium of local independent traders formed for this purpose, to help fund the purchase and installation of Christmas lights throughout the town, estimated at £12,000.

A grant of £2,600 was awarded in October 2021 to the Horsebridge Arts Centre to enable the undertaking of the first stage of a community arts project. The aim of the project being to inspire and guide children to produce artwork which is later to be utilised in a project to enhance the appearance of the Sea Street area of Whitstable.

In October 2021 a grant of £5,000 was awarded to the Cornwallis Circle Improvement Group. This grant was awarded in partnership with Canterbury City Council and other potential benefactors to improve and reinstate the currently deteriorating children’s public play park. Total project costs estimated at £80,000

The Trust has always been keen to promote Whitstable’s rich heritage and in April 2021 an opportunity presented itself when we were asked by Timescapes Kent to provide £600 to help them with the funding of artwork to accompany the presentation of a travelling exhibition telling the story of Admiral Nelson’s command of the East Swale Squadron off the town’s shores.

Image courtesy of Ellie Beer, illustrator and Mark Harrison FSA Archaeological Consultant.

In April 2021, a small grant of £50 was awarded to improve the environment at the rear of the Umbrella Centre by the introduction of a planted border.

For many years the Waterloo Community Centre (previously the Over 60’s Centre) was in need of improved facilities to cater for their more disadvantaged visitors. In October 2020 the WIT were approached to assist with funding the modification of the existing WC arrangements to accommodate the disabled. A grant of £5,000 was awarded for this purpose.

In October 2020 a grant of £3,780 was awarded to the Kentish Stour Countryside Partnership for the provision and planting of trees in Genesta Avenue, Grimthorpe Avenue and Westgate Terrace to enhance the local environment.

In April 2020 the Trust instigated a jointly funded project, in partnership with the Whitstable Community Museum and Gallery, to design and produce a new Town Map and Guide because the previous version, which had been provided by Canterbury City Council, was out of print and required updating. WIT Funds totalling £2,661 were allocated for the production of the artwork and the initial printing of 5,000 copies. The Guide is currently distributed throughout the town via the museum, community centres, hotels and holiday homes. Future copies will be updated as necessary and provided by the Trust.