Grants to two community groups are to be stopped or reduced.

West Oxfordshire District Council had previously given £19,000 per year to the Oxfordshire Rural Community Council (ORCC), which supports village shops and Post Offices, and £3,500 to the Oxfordshire Playing Fields Association (OFPA).

But it will begin providing the services in-house from now on and has reduced the ORCC grant to £11,495. It also ended its funding for the group’s work in community development and affordable housing as well as the grant to the OFPA.

Communities cabinet member Richard Langridge said this was not for financial reasons and was just a change in the council’s methods in delivering community work.