Ørsted's East Coast Community Fund awards tenth round of grants

Since 2016, more than 145 local community groups and charities have been awarded a share of over £2 million from the Ørsted East Coast Community Fund. This comes as 13 deserving local organisations have received the good news that they too have been awarded grants from the tenth round of the Fund.

The East Coast Community Fund is part of the community engagement programme for Ørsted’s Hornsea 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.

An additional £75,000 per year is ring-fenced for a skills fund, designed to support a range of educational and training initiatives.

The community groups will each receive a share of the windfall, which is available every six months through an open application process.

The successful groups from round ten are: 

• Grimsby in Bloom, Early Intervention Workshops, £5,000
• Cudox Wellbeing CIC, Cudox Therapy – Community Counselling Services, £32,324
• F.C Grainthorpe, Portable Floodlights and Goals 2021/2022, £4,505
• Hornsea Coastwatch NCI, Eyes on the Coast, £1,500
• Hunstanton Concert Band, Director of Music, £1,300
• Foresight (North East Lincolnshire) Limited, Taking the Dis out of Disability Outdoor Activity Centre, £32,500
• Jacobs Well Appeal, Supporting Covid Recovery Bridlington – Food, Clothing and Kindness, £5,000
• LIVES, East Coast Critical Care Car (Call Sign Medic50), £49,699
• Inspired Equine Assisted Learning CIC, Horses Helping Children Living with Autism in South Lincolnshire, £12,000
• Grimsby, Cleethorpes & District Citizens Advice Bureau, North East Lincolnshire – Covid Impact Reduction Project, £24,900
• Borough Council of King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Food for Thought, £12,082
• King's Lynn Winter Night Shelter, King's Lynn Winter Night Shelter 2021-22 Winter Season, £12,958
• Old Hunstanton Village Hall, Old Hunstanton Village Hall Toilet Refurbishment, £7,050

On receiving the good news, Paul Silvester, Chief Officer from Foresight (North East Lincolnshire) said: “Foresight are absolutely delighted to be awarded a grant from the East Coast Community Fund as this will be integral to the completion of our outdoor activity centre. This is a unique project which will have enormous impact on the physical and mental health and wellbeing of the local disabled community and be hugely instrumental in assisting post pandemic recovery. The centre will provide access to extensive outdoor activity currently unavailable in the area, generate significant volunteering opportunities, address social exclusion and generate a real togetherness for our community.”

Imran Nawaz, Stakeholder Advisor and Community Benefit Fund Manager at Ørsted, said: “Across the UK we have supported over 500 projects, and to be able to support another thirteen worthy causes on the East Coast is a great accolade to end the year on. We hope to see lots more applications and encourage projects and groups to apply for our 2022 rounds.”

In total, over the twenty years, up to £9.3 million will be made available for community and environmental projects in coastal areas of Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and North Norfolk.

There are two application rounds each year for groups to apply to, and the next closing date is 9 February 2022.

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 247630.