Local community groups, businesses and organisations can now apply for a major grant, helping them deliver projects that will improve the lives of local people, benefit the environment and boost the economy.
As part of the Council’s delivery of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, we are launching a new community grants scheme. Any organisation in the city, including voluntary, community, social enterprise groups or businesses in Plymouth are invited to apply for a major slice of the funding to deliver their projects.
Projects eligible for community grants must demonstrate positive impacts under one or more of the following themes:
- Cost of living challenges
- Focusing on Net Zero
- Supporting our communities / creating resilient communities
- Regenerating community heritage assets
The Council is looking to fund up to two major projects from this funding and are encouraging local organisations to collaborate and come forward with their ideas on how this significant grant could make a difference to their work. Projects have to be delivered by March 2025.
Councillor Tudor Evans, Leader of Plymouth City Council, said: “As part of our work to build a better Plymouth, we work hard to access funding that will help drive change in our city.
“We have secured this grant to provide a boost to our community empowerment work. We want to work in partnership with local organisations and invest in communities and place, supporting local business, people and skills, creating pride in our great city and increasing life chances for everyone.
“This is a major grant. So we would encourage organisations to work together and collectively make a bid that will deliver tangible local impact.”
For more information, or to apply, go to: UK Shared Prosperity Fund | PLYMOUTH.GOV.UK
Cost of Living Challenges
We are particularly interested in projects that will look to support individuals with the challenges of Cost of Living. This may include; implementing and deploying a range of cost effective energy efficient measures to reduce costs of households and the running costs of properties across a range of tenures, addressing the impact of food inflation and supporting food cooperatives who may reduce the number of people experiencing food poverty. Plymouth City Council have developed a Cost of Living Action Plan, we would expect projects to complement this.
Focussing on Net Zero
This will largely be supported through capital funds, and will be an opportunity to utilise and adopt renewable infrastructure to generate energy efficient communities.
We are particularly interested in viable projects that could exploit capital funds to deliver projects across the Plymouth area.
Supporting our Communities/Creating Resilient Communities
Projects are invited to apply that improve the quality of life for their residents and build better community cohesion. This could include, supporting the development, renovations, extension and enhancements of community facilities. This could also support volunteering activities, support around the cost of living and community led initiatives including food cooperatives focusing on reducing the number of people experiencing food poverty
Regenerating Community Heritage Assets
Applications are invited from projects that will support the development and regeneration of heritage assets, projects should also support career opportunities, sustainability and social mobility. This could specifically target rejuvenating gardening and community assets. This Community & Place Open Call is thanks to £710,000 from the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund