Ørsted's East Coast Community Fund Reaches Million Pound Milestone

The sixth round of Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund saw a major milestone reached, with the total funds awarded exceeding the million pound mark.

The Fund was launched by leading renewable energy company, Ørsted in December 2016 and has now donated over £1.1 million to more than 95 projects in coastal areas of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk.

Imran Nawaz, Stakeholder Advisor and Community Benefit Fund Manager for Ørsted said: “We’re extremely pleased to be able to support local community groups who are making a real difference to the people in their area.

“We have already seen over one million pounds make a huge impact on deserving projects in the regions and with each additional round of funding, we look forward to finding out which groups benefit from the donated funds.”

The seventeen groups celebrating their successful bids from the sixth round are: 

• Louth Town Juniors FC, Installation of Solar Panels and Air Source Heating system - £5,000
  
  
• We'll Meet Again Museum C.I.O., Avro Lancaster Virtual Reality Experience - £12,200
  
  
• Gaywood Community Centre, Community Centre Re-Wiring - £15,000
  
  
• Linkage Community Trust, Linkage Green Cafe Refurbishment - £4,630
  
  
• Inspired Equine Assisted Learning CIC, Horses Helping People with Dementia and their Carers - £4,500 
  
  
• Ghetto Lincs C.I.C, Road Safety Awareness - £4,880
  
  
• Sussex Pavilion Community Group CIO, Sussex Pavilion Disabled Toilet Provision - £18,072
  
  
• Spurn Bird Observatory Trust Ltd, Easington Little Tern Protection Scheme - £22,880
  
  
• Hull Children's University, A Letterbox Club for Grimsby - £15,898
  
  
• East Lindsey District Council, Mablethorpe Boat Shed - £17,986
  
  
• Creative Start Arts In Health CIC, The Great Escape - £28,600
  
  
• Samaritans of Boston, Being There For Outreach, Recruitment, Training and Listening - £9,000
  
  
• Lincolnshire Lowland Search and Rescue, Expanding the Organisation - £4,850
  
  
• The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association, My Guide - Lincolnshire Coastline - £25,576
  
  
• Emerge Hub CIC, Supporting Street Sex Workers - Grimsby - £15,063
  
  
• Willoughby Road Allotments Association, Community Building Improvements - £1,530
  
  
• Hope Street Trust (HST), Galley Employability Café - £24,875

On hearing the good news, Mike Coverdale from Spurn Bird Observatory Trust said: “The Easington Little Tern Protection Scheme, led by Spurn Bird Observatory Trust, is delighted to have been awarded a grant by the East Coast Community Fund. The grant allows us to continue to protect the only breeding colony of Little Terns in the Humber area, which is essential due to their vulnerability to disturbance and nationally declining numbers. The Protection Scheme also benefits breeding Ringed Plover, which is another declining breeding species.”

The Fund is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted’s Hornsea One and Race Bank offshore wind farms. Each year, until 2037, approximately £390,000 will be available from the main fund to support a wide range of community and environmental projects.

Once officially opened in 2020, Hornsea One will be the world’s largest offshore windfarm, generating enough clean electricity to power well over one million UK homes. An additional £75,000 per year is ring-fenced for a skills fund, designed to support a range of educational and training initiatives.

There are two application rounds each year for groups to apply to the main fund, and the next closing date is 5 February 2020.

The Fund is being administered by national charity GrantScape. For further details of how you can apply to the next round, please visit GrantScape’s website www.grantscape.org.uk or call 01908 247634.