"Stingy" parish and town councils could be told to stump up more cash if they want district funding for community projects in their area.

Tory district councillors want to tighten controls on the council's Community Initiatives Fund (CIF) in a bid to make the money go further.

And one proposal is to make it clear how much communities themselves, including grassroots councils, should be putting into projects.

The new criteria were in part sparked by a recent application by Steep War Memorial Village Club for nearly £5,000 to replace windows at the village hall.

But the application angered district council leader, Elizabeth Cartwright, because Steep Parish Council had contributed just £250.

She said: "Steep's Parish precept is far too low, it is the third lowest in the district and less than half the average. In most other villages this project would be picked up by the parish."

And the council agreed to give them just £1,000.

This week Mrs Cartwright told The Herald that the proposed changes to the grants system were aimed at making the fund go further and ensuring local communities pay their way.

"Some parish councils are brilliant and put in lots of money whereas other parish and town council's are less good.

Under the new proposals the minimum community contribution required, including any grants from the town or parish council, will be percentage-linked to the amount of CIF funding asked for.

Other proposals include lowering the maximum grant available and introducing fixed dates for consideration of applications.

Mrs Cartwright said: "We have got too many applications in the pipeline and the money is going to run out. We need a more equitable way of distributing this money.

"We have got to make it go further."

There is currently £63,000 left in this year's fund of £200,000, with a total of £203,000 of applications outstanding.

The council has suspended issuing CIF application packs and is set to consider all outstanding bids in one go in order to prioritise the applications.

The council's cabinet was set to make a decision on the new criteria at a meeting on Wednesday night.

It was also proposed to consider applications on fixed dates in the future to allow councillors to make comparisons between projects in respect of their community worth.

The cabinet was also set to consider setting budgets for each of the four areas in the district based on population, to ensure a fair distribution of cash.