Earlier this year, Ørsted announced that they were keen that organisations applying to the Fund are reflecting on their environmental impact, taking positive steps to minimise the carbon footprint of their project, and seeking opportunities to become more environmentally sustainable.
Through the grant application process, groups are now asked if they are taking steps to minimise the carbon footprint of the project, they are seeking funding support for, and whether the project will make a positive impact on the environment – in other words, is the project ‘Inspired by Green’? New judging criteria for the Fund is giving greater weighting to the answers to these questions.
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 STEM educational and training initiatives.
The full list of organisations awarded grants in the latest round of the Community Benefit Fund are as follows:
- Sea Cadets Wells-next-the-Sea, Wells-next-the-Sea SCC Stand Up Paddleboard Provision, £4,779
- West Marsh Development Trust Ltd, Household Support for Ukrainian Refugees, £4,336
- Wells Maltings Trust, Wells Maltings Youth Group Project, £5,000
- Welwick Village Hall, Welwick Village Hall - Indoor Bowls Equipment, £2,732
- The Health Gospel CIC, Recruitment of a Project Development Officer, £15,720
- Hanseatic Union, King's Lynn and West Norfolk, Migrant Health Support, £11,041
- Snettisham Beach Sailing Club, Installation of Solar Thermal Water Heating and Upgrade Shower Facilities, £13,645
- Age UK Lindsey, The East Coast 'Reaching Out' Project - Reducing Social Isolation, £27,422
- Keelby Sports Association, Keelby Sports Association Solar Panels and Battery Storage, £12,408
- North Lynn Methodist Church, North Lynn - Community Garden Renovation, £4,982
- Christian Action & Resource Enterprise Ltd, CARE Community Hub, Renovation Project, £50,000
- Blackfriars Arts Centre Limited, New Heating and Hot Water Boiler, £22,800
- Run With It, Bridlington Football Club - Run With It Education Centre, £5,000
- Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, Flamborough and Spurn, East Coast – New Solar Provision, £16,000
- Your Community Hub CIC, Improvement of Cleethorpes Sandpit, £14,720
- Hardings Pits Community Association Ltd, Purchase Two Mowers for Conservation/Biodiversity Management, £5,000
- East Lindsey District Council, Sutton on Sea - Educational Bin Installation, £21,493
- Bells and Whistles Exercise Group, Posts & Paths, £1,000
On receiving the good news, Adrian Tebbutt, Commodore of Snettisham Beach Sailing Club, said: "Sailing is intrinsically a very 'green' sport and we have been anxious to improve the sustainability and green credentials of the club further. We are 'off grid' and have relied until now on LPG and a diesel generator for our hot water and electricity. This grant from the East Coast Community Fund will enable us to go further in our 'greening' programme, supplementing the recently installed Solar PV and battery system with a Solar Thermal system to provide continuous hot water for showers and sinks throughout the club. We pride ourselves on being a community club accessible to as many people as possible. Grant contributions such as this from the East Coast Community Fund make it possible to keep our costs, and therefore costs to members and other users, as low as possible.”
Imran Nawaz, Senior Advisor & Community Benefit Fund Manager for Ørsted, said: “It is great to see the successful awards for this round. Community is so important to Ørsted, and being able to give back to our local area is a high priority for us. A huge thanks to all the organisations for all your incredible work in helping us all love our home. ”
The Fund is being administered by national charity GrantScape. There are two application rounds each year for groups to apply to, and the next closing date is 31 January 2024. 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.