National Lottery Community Fund: Living Places and Spaces Fund

Overview

This programme offers small scale capital grants of between £1,000 and £10,000. This is to support communities by creating more sustainable and resilient outdoor spaces through:

• Greening - planting more trees and plants in an area
• rewilding - allowing nature to take over an area
• water management - slowing rainwater before it gets to the drainage systems.

The funding helps increase access to those spaces. The types of projects that could be funded include:

• community gardens (a single piece of land gardened collectively by a group of people)
• pocket parks and forests (small urban or rural forests)
• allotments (an area of land used for growing fruit and vegetables)
• rain gardens (an area which is planted so that rainwater from roofs, driveways, etc runs into it and soaks into the ground, and therefore does not cause flooding or other problems)
• green roofs (a roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation)
• ponds and living walls or vertical gardens (vertical structures that have living plants or other greenery attached to them).
• installation of outdoor furniture or features to encourage usage
• measures to encourage walking, wheeling and cycling.

You can apply if you are a:

• voluntary or community organisation
• registered charity
• constituted group or club
• not-for-profit company or community interest company
• school.

Board or committee members

It’s important that organisations applying have at least two people on their board or committee who are not related.

By related, they mean:

• married to each other
• in a civil partnership with each other
• in a long-term relationship with each other
• living together at the same address
• related by blood.

All companies who apply must have at least two directors who are not related in any of these ways. This also applies to companies that are also registered as charities.

Projects they will fund

Your project needs to support communities by creating more sustainable and resilient spaces through:

• greening - planting more trees and plants in an area
• rewilding - allowing nature to take over an area
• water management - slowing rainwater before it gets to the drainage systems

Project funding may also include connections to allow people to access these improved spaces, furniture to encourage usage and measures to encourage active travel. Requests of between £1,000 and £10,000 for small-scale capital projects can be considered.

You can still apply even if you have a current grant from The National Lottery Community Fund.

They'll support a range of projects

The types of projects that could be funded include:

• community gardens
• pocket parks and forests - small urban or rural forests
• allotments
• rain gardens - a depressed area in the landscape that collects rainwater from a roof or area of land and allows it to soak into the ground
• green roofs - a roof that is partially or completely covered with vegetation
• ponds and living walls or vertical gardens
• furniture to encourage usage and measures to encourage active travel walking, wheeling and cycling.

They want the projects to reflect a mix of communities and places from across Northern Ireland. They’ll make sure there’s a geographical spread of funding and a range of activities being delivered across the projects they support.

They'll take this into account when assessing your application against others that they receive.

You might find it useful to have a look at the awards they made in the last round of funding through Living Places and Spaces.

Eligible Costs

They can pay for capital costs between £1,000 and £10,000 that meet the aims of this programme.

You must spend the money within one year of receiving your award.

This list does not include everything. If you're not sure, contact them.

You might find it useful to have a look at the awards they made in the last round of funding through Living Places and Spaces.

They can fund:

• land and building costs (i.e. the costs of creating pathways, installation of vertical garden structures, developing a green roof etc.)
• equipment and materials (i.e. trees, plants, seeds, pots, tools, furniture etc.).

For land or building projects, you’ll need to either:

• own the land or building
• have a lease that cannot be ended for five years
• have a letter from the owner saying the land or building will be leased to you for at least five years
• have a letter from the owner or landlord that says you're allowed to do work on the building
• and you should also think about if you may need planning permission for the work.

You should consider the environmental impact of your project and try to reuse, reduce and recycle where possible.

You must involve your community in your project

They believe people understand what's needed in their communities better than anyone else. It’s important to them that you involve your community in the design, development, and delivery of the project activity you’re planning.

If your project works with children, young people or vulnerable adults

You need to have a policy in place that explains how they'll be safe. They might ask to see this policy if they award you funding. The NSPCC have helpful advice about setting up and following good child safeguarding policies.