Eighteen Projects Awarded Funding through Ørsted's East Coast Community Fund

The latest awards take the total number of projects supported to 166, with total funds awarded now standing at over £2.1 million since the Fund launched in 2016.

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 full list of organisations awarded grants in the latest round of the Community Benefit Fund are as follows:

• The Faraway CIC, Neurodiverse Peer to Peer Support - £14,154
• Holderness Fishing Industry Group, Industry-Led Lost Fishing Gear Locating Service for the Holderness Coast - £28,850
• 8^th Boston (Wyberton) Scout Group, New Craft Workshop - £4,000
• St. Andrew’s Hospice Grimsby, Sensory Room Equipment - £5,000
• Boston Community Transport, Continuation Support - £5,000
• Mighty Mariners Boxing Academy, Helping Young People - £4,000
• Centrepoint Outreach Boston, Activities and Community Engagement Project - £37,144
• Art Regeneration and Community Heritage Ltd, Reducing Carbon Footprint - £5,000
• Christian Action and Resource Enterprise, Combatting Furniture Poverty - £10,000
• Hope Housing Bridlington, Support for the Vulnerable in Bridlington - £5,000
• King’s Lynn Worfolk Boat Trust, Skipper Training - £1,766
• Lincolnshire YMCA, East Coast and Rural East Lindsey Youth Outreach Project - £16,148
• Friend in Deed, North Norfolk and Coastal Wind Farm Community Project - £2,411
• The Hinge Centre, After School Matters - £35,736
• Nelson’s Journey, Bereavement Support for Children and young People in King’s Lynn - £5,000
• Oasis Community Hub Wintringham, Family Resilience and Support - £17,500
• King’s Lynn Debt Centre, Client Support - £1,795
• Mablethorpe Area Partnership, Tide Turners supporting Vulnerable Groups Going Forward - £5,000

On receiving the good news, Kelly Lindsay, Founder of Friend in Deed, said: “We are so grateful to receive funding from the East Coast Community Fund. Our North Norfolk and Coastal Windfarm Community Project will mean that we can connect care home residents to local children whilst they both learn about renewable energy. Intergenerational projects are a wonderful way to bring all ages of the community together whilst promoting kindness and reducing loneliness. A big thanks to Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund and GrantScape.”

Imran Nawaz, Stakeholder Advisor & Community Benefit Fund Manager for Ørsted, said: “Ørsted’s East Coast Community Fund provides a lovely opportunity for us to dovetail with the community. Our wind farms would not be built and maintained without our colleagues, who majority come from the East Coast, so to be able to give back to the community here is so important to us. Well done to all projects who have been chosen.”

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 27 July 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.