HS2 Community and Environment Fund

Grants are available for local not-for-profit organisations to support work which enhances the quality of life and the environment of communities disrupted by the construction of the HS2 north-south railway.

The Government has set aside £40 million of funding to be administered by Groundwork UK through two grant schemes:

The Community and Environment Fund (CEF)
The Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF)

Groundwork, a registered charity, will administer the funding over an 11 year period, throughout the first phase of construction of the High Speed Two (HS2) north-south railway and the first year of its operation.

The Community and Environment Fund (CEF) is administered by Groundwork in order to add benefit over and above committed mitigation and statutory compensation to communities along the route that is demonstrably disrupted by the construction of phase one of HS2 from London to the West Midlands.

Applications will be accepted from a range of organisations including:

Registered charities.
Fully constituted clubs, associations or trusts that are set up for charitable purposes.
Local authorities.
Other public sector statutory bodies such as a parish and town councils.
Local education authorities.
Foundation schools or colleges.
Voluntary aided or controlled schools.
Independent schools or colleges.
Institutes of further education.
Academy schools.
Institutes of higher education (including universities).
Community Interest Companies (CIC).
Industrial Provident Societies.
Community amateur sports clubs (CASC).

Grants are available to cover the following types of expenditure:

Capital only expenditure – Funding can be used towards capital infrastructure costs, including the refurbishment of existing facilities, the installation of fixed equipment, new buildings and structures, enhanced access and landscaping. Work should be able to start within six months of an award being received and works completed within two years. A contribution of up to £1,000 towards legal fees on capital grants to enable grant security (eg securing a lease or placing a restriction on title) to be obtained can be included in the project budget.
Revenue only expenditure – Funding can be used cover running costs, staffing and project delivery costs. Revenue grant awards are available for up to a maximum three years in length. Funding is only for direct project costs, that is, costs that relate clearly and directly to the delivery of the project. These can include salaries, volunteer expenses, building hire costs and travel costs. In many cases project costs will also include less delivery-focused aspects such as administration, insurance and utility costs. Applicants can also include a contribution (no more than 20% of their total request) to cover a contribution to existing costs such as overheads and management costs (as long as the costs are linked to the project).
Mixed revenue and capital expenditure applications will also be accepted.

There are no formal deadlines as this is a rolling programme. Applications are accepted at any time.

Full details…