Wealden Community Infrastructure and Spaces Fund

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.

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.

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.