Big Lottery Fund: Coastal Communities Fund
Overview
CCF is a UK-wide programme and the single outcome is that “coastal communities will experience regeneration and economic growth through projects that directly or indirectly create sustainable jobs, and safeguard existing jobs”. However there are also some country specific requirements and priorities. Information about these, as well as who is eligible to apply, is below.
Grants of £50,000 and over are available. The following types of organisation can apply:
- local authorities
- development agencies in Northern Ireland
- other public sector bodies
- charities
- voluntary and community sector organisations
- social enterprises, including cooperatives and community ownership initiatives
- private sector companies
Co-finance is not a requirement of CCF but those applications with funding from other sources will need to provide evidence that all other funding has been secured by the stage two application deadline.
Specific priorities for Northern Ireland
They particularly welcome applications that contribute to the Northern Ireland Executive’s Economic Strategy. The priorities include:
- growing a sustainable economy
- investing in the future
- creating jobs and
- tackling disadvantage.
CCF priorities in Northern Ireland will be focussed on applications:
- from small and medium size coastal communities with a population of around 60,000 or less facing economic challenges
- that promote regeneration and job creation through investment in tourism, business and the built and natural environments of coastal settlements
- that promote training and skills development, linked directly to the project activity, to enable local people to secure jobs in local industry growth sectors.
Funding will be available up to a maximum of £100,000 in Northern Ireland.
The UK Government announced in 2015 that the CCF will be extended to 2021 with at least £90m of new funding available for the period 2017/18 to 2020/21.
Round 4 of the CCF opened to applications in England on 22 May 2016 and in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on 4 July 2016.
One further funding round in England, Wales and Northern Ireland is expected to open in 2017.