Funding Update December 2010

IWA RESTORATION COMMITTEE Ray Buss 21 Whipcord Lane Chester CH1 4DH To: cc:

Canal Societies/Trusts, Northern/Southern Canals Assns, IWAC, AINA IWA Head Office for distribution to branches and regions

Tel 01244 665 855 e-mail: ray.buss@virgin.net

FUNDING UPDATE (DECEMBER 2010) WOULD YOU LIKE DIRECT ACCESS TO AN ON-LINE GRANTS DATABASE THROUGH IWA? As part of its work in supporting restoration schemes, IWA Restoration Committee is looking at taking out a corporate subscription to GrantsOnline (www.grantsonline.org.uk), which has information about Government, European and Lottery funding as well as trusts and foundations. It also has a news service reporting on the latest funding opportunities, which is updated daily. This subscription would be for one year in the first instance and would allow us to provide access to restoration groups through a username and password system, specific to each user/group. The cost of this to the groups joining the scheme would depend on the number of users, but could be as low as £45 per year, a significant reduction on the single-user cost of £210.

We are now inviting expressions of interest from groups who might like to subscribe to this service at the reduced rate and, in return, agree to provide feedback on the database’s usefulness. If you are interested in taking part in this trial please contact me as soon as possible and, at the latest, by 31 January 2011.

LOCAL ENTERPRISE PARTNERSHIPS - SUCCESSORS TO THE RDAS??

The White Paper 'Local growth: realising every place’s potential' has been released and proposes the establishment of local enterprise partnerships (LEPs). This was first announced in June when businesses and local authorities were invited to join forces and bid to form partnerships that reflect natural economic areas that would ‘establish themselves as strategic leaders and visionaries for private sector-led growth and job creation in their local area’. Once established, LEPs will be required to operate closely with universities, further education colleges and other key economic stakeholders, including social and community enterprises. This inclusion of the voluntary and community sector came late in the day after a decision to exclude them from the new Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) was overturned after pressure from National Association for Voluntary and Community Action (NAVCA) members.

Of the 62 applications submitted, 24 have been approved to progress to the next stage. The Government said it was particularly keen for proposals to address collaborative working in the priority areas of transport, housing and planning. The successful bidders are:            

Cumbria Tees Valley Leeds City Region Liverpool City Region Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, Derby and Derbyshire Lincolnshire Sheffield City Region Greater Cambridge and Greater Peterborough South East Midlands Stoke and Staffordshire Cheshire and Warrington The Marches Enterprise Partnership

           

West of England Empowering Enterprise; Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Solent Thames Valley Berkshire Oxfordshire City Region Hertfordshire Kent and Greater Essex Coast to Capital Leicester and Leicestershire Birmingham and Solihull with East Staffordshire, Lichfield and Tamworth Greater Manchester Coventry and Warwickshire

Clearly, not all of these areas will contain waterways and the precise roles of the LEPs are far from clear, but they may provide new opportunities for investment in the waterways network and for promoting the economic and social benefits deriving from waterway restoration. ResCom will be contacting local waterway societies and bodies to notify them of the new LEP arrangements for their area or scheme and to advise on how they might engage with their own LEP.

Registered Office; Island House, Moor Road, Chesham 1WA Tel: 01494 783453 Web: www.waterways.org.uk

The Inland Waterways Association is a non-profit distributing company limited by guarantee. Registered in England no. 612245.

Registered as a charity no. 212342

REGIONAL GROWTH FUND OPENS Linked to the establishment of LEPs, the Local Growth White Paper also announced the opening of a £1.4 billion Regional Growth Fund to ‘support the creation of private sector jobs and target the communities currently most dependent on the public sector, helping them make the transition to private sector led growth and prosperity’.

Proposals are being invited from the private sector or public/private partnerships, including the Local Enterprise Partnerships, and should seek to contribute to the delivery of sustainable increases in private sector employment and economic growth. Bids should be for a minimum of £1 million and must meet the aims of the fund, contributing to sustainable economic growth, creating new private sector employment. They should lever in private sector funds and align with European Regional Development Fund where possible. Projects must demonstrate additionality in that they would not progress without funding support and will lead to additional economic activity. The deadline for submission of proposals is 21 January 2011.

PLANNING PROCESSES ResCom is actively considering ways in which local waterway societies and bodies can become more involved with the planning process in order to promote and safeguard restoration projects. The Development Plan system in England and Wales is in a period of rapid change. Local Plans and Unitary Development Plans are being replaced by Local Development Frameworks (LDFs) whilst a host of new Strategic and Local Policies are currently being formulated. ResCom consider it vital that there should be appropriate reference to the restoration and management of waterways in the new generation of Development Plans and will shortly be issuing advice on various ways in which the waterways movement can participate in plan formulation and implementation.

INCREASED INVESTMENT BY HERITAGE LOTTERY FUND The Heritage Lottery Fund has announced it has an additional £45 million for grant distribution in the coming financial year. This will bring the total funding available to £250 million, as a result of the increased share of Lottery funding allocated to heritage and the continued success of National Lottery ticket sales. £17 million has been allocated to four programmes in particular, the Townscape Heritage Initiative, Repair Grants for Places of Worship, Your Heritage and Landscape Partnerships. Further details will be announced in the spring of 2011 – see www.hlf.org.uk THE JUBILEE PEOPLE’S MILLIONS (UK) The Big Lottery Fund, with the agreement of Buckingham Palace, will be helping to mark the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012 by offering grants of between £20,000 and £60,000 to support new projects that will improve local places and the lives of people in your community. The Jubilee People’s Millions will be open to applications from voluntary or community organisations, schools, local authorities or health bodies. To have a chance of winning applicants will need to inspire local people to get involved with their project. They will also need to capture the public’s imagination and persuade them to vote for the project. The deadline for applications is 4 February 2011. Shortlisted projects will then be subject to a public vote within their ITV area.

QUEEN ELIZABETH II FIELDS FUND (UK) The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge is a new campaign supported by the SITA Trust, HRH Prince William and the Fields Trust. The Challenge aims to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities such as pitches, woodlands, children's play areas, gardens, bicycle trails, parks etc, all across the country as a permanent living legacy of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. Local Authorities, Parish and Town Councils, sports clubs and other private landowners can apply to obtain Queen Elizabeth II Field status and will then be able to apply for funding. For further information including how to apply to become a Queen Elizabeth II visit www.sitatrust.org.uk/news/175 ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE FUND The Architectural Heritage Fund (AHF) is a registered charity that promotes the conservation and regeneration of historic buildings in the UK. Funding is available to voluntary organisations to regenerate historic buildings to create community and education facilities, workspace and homes. To be eligible to apply for funding through the AHF, organisations need to be a registered charity and the building(s) must be listed, scheduled as an ancient monument or in a Conservation Area (if in a Conservation Area, it must be of acknowledged historic or architectural importance). The project must also involve a change of ownership and/or a change of use.

Previously funded projects include turning run down historic buildings into community theatres, resource centres, community learning centres, workspaces, places to live and community meeting places, etc. The next closing date for applications is 9 February 2011

Ray Buss NOTE: Although the information above has been checked as far as possi ble, neither the IW A nor the compiler can guarantee its accuracy or be held responsible for any liabilities arising from the use of the information.

PS - as mentioned previously, if you have received this Funding Update but there is a more appropriate recipient within your organisation, please pass it on to them and let me know so that I can update my address list. Any feedback you can give us on any existing or new funding regimes, which may help other groups who are putting applications together would be very gratefully received.