Wealden Community Infrastructure and Spaces Fund 2024 - now open

17/04/2024

Wealden Community Infrastructure and Spaces Fund – is now open for applications!

Wealden District Council are pleased to announce that the Community Infrastructure and Spaces capital grants programme in now open to apply

This new funding programme has been made available through the Government Rural England Prosperity Fund. The England-wide fund is a new £110million, two-year capital fund from DEFRA complementary to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund run by the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities. It is a top up for eligible authorities, such as Wealden District Council, which have already submitted an investment plan for UKSPF, to address the extra needs of rural areas.

The programme is a capital only fund, which means applicants must spend the grants on assets such as equipment and features which help to create or improve spaces/ facilities or infrastructure where the benefits last more than 12 months.

Wealden District Council has allocated £121,259.90 towards the Community Infrastructure and Spaces Grants Programme and are asking Town and Parish Councils and not for profit organisations to apply for between £1,000 and £20,000 for projects that benefit the residents of the Wealden District.

This will be a rolling programme and applications will be processed on a first come first served basis. The fund closes in Autumn 2024, or sooner if all funds are allocated.

See below table which details the level of match funding needed for each funding programme:

	Grant Available	Match funding Required
Small Grants Programme	£1,000 – £5,000	50% combination of cash or in kind
Large Grants Programme	£5,001 – £20,000	50% cash only

Successful applications will be given a set period to spend their grant on a case-by-case basis. Final payments will be defrayed once the project has been completed and evidence of spend submitted. All projects must be completed and money spent by end of January 2025.

What the capital grant can be used on:

For small grants programme only:

Green Spaces and Active Travel
Types of Areas	Examples of Projects
Recreation grounds, nature reserves, woodlands, country parks, village greens, nature reserves, public realms, walking routes, woodland routes, nature routes, cycling routes, community orchards.	Enhancements including seating, information boards, picnic benches, energy saving schemes, replace, new or additional facilities e.g. bike racks, landscaping including boardwalks. Improving accessibility to green spaces and additional features. New or extended footpaths, cycling routes and trails.
Community gardens	Creation of new or expansion of existing publicly accessed community gardens/allotments.

For small and large grants programme only:

Community Infrastructure
Types of Areas	Examples of Projects
Community spaces, village and community halls, community centres	Net zero infrastructure e.g. new heaters, heat pumps, PV panels, LED lighting, insulation improvements. ’Like for like’ improvements such as door and window replacements will not be considered, however additional assets or upgrading windows are eligible i.e. from single glazing to double glazing. Improved accessibility into and within a building Improvements to internal layouts of a building to support additional community activities e.g. room dividers
Owned car parks or land	EV charging points (open for public or community use)

If you interested in applying for this programme, please email a brief summary including the points below:

• A summary on what your project is,

• How much you want to apply for,

• Confirmation that match-funding is in place,

Please send through your expression of interest to communitygrants@wealden.gov.uk and WDC’s Economic Development and Wellbeing team will be in touch to confirm whether a full application can be submitted.

For the full guidance notes, application form and scoring sheet, please go to: https://www.wealden.gov.uk/information-for-businesses/economic-development-and-growth/rural-england-prosperity-fund/wealden-community-infrastructure-and-spaces-fund/