Walney Extension Community Fund Criteria

The full eligibility criteria for the Walney Extension Community Fund is below. Please read it through carefully and ensure your project is eligible to be considered for grant support, BEFORE you apply.

We have some FAQs that will help answer any other questions you may have and a Useful Links page that can help you find other sources of funding, or more general funding advice, in your area.

If you would like to know more about how your application will be processed and how decisions will be made please click here.

Interest in the Walney Extension Community Fund is consistently high. Please give your project the best chance of success and apply when you are ‘grant ready’. Advice on being grant ready can be found in the FAQs.

Fund Overview

Each year approximately £600,000 will be available. Approximately £100k of this Fund will be ring-fenced for a ‘Skills Fund’. Please click here for further information.

The remaining monies (circa £500,000) will be split equally over two funding rounds each year.

The application deadline for the main fund is detailed on the right side of the page. Late applications cannot be considered until the next funding round, usually every six months.

There are two levels of grants and groups can apply for both revenue and capital costs in the same application.

For projects involving revenue costs, applicants can apply for funding for up to two years.

a) Small grants between £500 and £5,000
b) Main grants between £5,001 and £50,000

Organisations can only apply for one project per funding round (unless you are a Local Authority or a Town or Parish Council applying on behalf of another group).

Successful groups cannot apply for the same project for a period of 2 years, following the final payment of the grant.

Unsuccessful groups cannot reapply for the same project to the very next round and have to skip a round before the project can be reconsidered.

Match Funding

Match funding is not required for Small grant applications.

Main grant applications will need to secure a minimum of 20% of match funding.

Please note that match funding does not need to have been secured prior to application. In-kind contributions can be used as match funding. A formula within the application guidance notes shows how this can be calculated.

Project Location

All applications must be located on or within the Fund boundary as shown on the map on the previous page.

Any projects located outside the area are not eligible to apply. If you are at all uncertain, please contact the GrantScape Team to discuss your application before you apply.

Project Purpose

The Walney Extension Community Fund will support projects that meet at least one of the following themes:

Community facilities. This might include capital improvements works or measures to increase energy efficiency at village halls, community centre, museums, heritage centres and community cafes.
Nature conservation and public green space projects. This might include projects that create and enhance parks, projects at nature reserves, woodland projects, community wildflower projects, bee conservation, projects to enhance coastal habitat and community growing schemes.
Community activities and services. This might include projects that focus on health and wellbeing issues, community arts projects, or grants for equipment or support for local clubs and groups.
Sports, recreation and play. This might include sports field drainage projects, playgrounds, skate parks, indoor climbing walls and sports equipment.

Eligible Organisations

Eligible Organisations, who can apply for funding include:

Voluntary and community groups, and local charities
Parish and Town Councils
Local Authorities (if they are applying on behalf of a community group / organisation)
Social Enterprises and Community Interest Companies operating on a non-profit-distributing basis. These are defined by Social Enterprise UK as ‘businesses that trade to tackle social problems, improve communities, people’s life chances, or the environment. They make their money from selling goods and services in the open market, but they reinvest their profits back into the business or the local community’. Such organisations must have a minimum of three unrelated Directors.

Applicants are required to have a written constitution, a set of rules, or a governing document and a bank or building society account held in the name of the organisation, in place, before applying for a grant.

Exclusions

Grants will not be available for:

Commercial organisations.
Any works that are a statutory responsibility (such as works to public highways) or that are the legal responsibility of others to fund.
Projects that are religious in focus or that support a party political campaign or cause or may bring the Fund into disrepute.
Projects located at religious buildings (unless the project is clearly for the benefit of the wider community, for example a Church Hall improvement project where the building is available to the general public).
Schools and educational establishments (unless the project is being delivered by a separate body). Projects at schools will only be supported where the project is for wider community use. The project (facility, area, service, activity etc) should have independent access, be run independently to the school and school use should not be prioritised over wider community use. All applicants with projects located on school grounds should contact GrantScape before applying to ensure your project meets the criteria.
Private membership-based sports clubs and facilities (unless membership is open to the general public without undue restriction e.g. not membership by nomination organisations). Monies are not available for sports clubs to undertake general maintenance or replace equipment / consumable items. Levels of participation, including initiatives to encourage wider participation, and community use of the facility are factors that will be considered in assessing applications from sports clubs.
Projects that only benefit individuals.
Retrospective funding (i.e. funding can only be requested for works that will begin / expenditure that will be incurred AFTER our funding decision has been made and a formal grant Contract issued)
Vehicle purchase and hire and land-based community transport schemes.
Public conveniences and public car parks.
Allotments (projects involving community allotments, community growing spaces and community orchards can still apply if access is available to the general public).
Festivals, music festivals, theatre productions, fairs, fetes, carnivals, arts festivals, fireworks displays, parades, day trips, residential trips, travel to competitions and other similar one off events. Community workshops / sessions and / or a programme of activities with lasting community benefit leading up to, or following on from an event will be considered.
Land and building purchase.
Stand-alone feasibility studies, project development costs including planning costs and neighbourhood and community plans.
Costs associated with ‘Asset Transfers’ from Local Authorities (i.e. legal costs, feasibility costs etc). However, once the Asset has been transferred, the group responsible for the amenity is eligible to apply for a grant from the Fund.
Organisations to establish their own ‘sub-fund’.
Consumable items and equipment that groups need to deliver core activities (e.g. art supplies for an art group, camera film for photography club). Items intended to increase participation will be considered.
Utility bill costs cannot be supported. Projects to improve the energy efficiency of community buildings are encouraged.

Judging Criteria

The criteria used when assessing applications received will be:

- The level of community support for and involvement in the project
- The local community benefit which will result from the project
- The environmental benefit which will result from the project and how any negative environmental impact has been mitigated – is the project ‘Inspired by Green’?
- How the work will be continued after the project has been completed, i.e. its sustainability and legacy
- The ability of the applicant to deliver the project
- Value for money
- Does the application demonstrate collaborative or partnership working rather than working in isolation
- Is the application clearly not duplicating a project / service already available in a particular area
- If grant monies are being requested towards staff salaries, the Fund will look favourably on groups that will be paying staff the real living wage