Cotswold District Council Rural England Prosperity Fund - Community Infrastructure Capital Grants

Cotswold District Council has allocated over £100,000 from the Government's Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) towards improvements to village halls and community buildings.

Who is eligible?:

  • Community Interest Companies
  • Community Benefit Organisations
  • Charities and other non-profit making community and voluntary sector organisations
  • Town and Parish Councils
  • Village Halls and Community Halls
  • Amateur Sports Clubs and Associations, providing that they have a legal entity in place such as company status, etc.

What will be funded?:

You must use funding on capital projects.  This means you must spend grants on lasting assets such as a building or equipment, for example:

  • installation of items such as renewable heat generators, e.g., Air or Ground Source Heat Pumps;
  • additional or improved wall, floor and ceiling insulation to conserve heat;
  • installation of double glazing to conserve heat;
  • changing light fittings to upgrade to LED lighting etc. to address energy saving measures;
  • installation of solar panels;
  • installation of Wi-Fi or fibre broadband to premises, where permitted;
  • installation of rain water harvesting systems;
  • installation of green roof systems;
  • other capital improvements, such as installation of disabled access

How much funding is available?

Grants of between £2,000 and £10,000 with 20% match funding required from applicants.  For all year 2 applications, there is a total of £92,307.20 to be allocated.

The Council is particularly keen to support decarbonisation, energy efficiency, and digital connectivity projects, but will consider any capital project to improve a community building.

The grant application process for 2024/25 funding, which is being run by GRCC, is now open.

There are three application rounds, with the deadlines below:

  • 12noon, Wednesday, 27 March 2024
  • 12noon, Thursday, 23 May 2024
  • 12noon, Friday, 12 July 2024

It is advisable to submit your application to the earliest deadline you can.

More information can be found in the guidance.  

See ACRE's 2024 free publication "Village & Community Halls: A Net-Zero Design Guide" for information and inspiration about how to make your community building more sustainable and cheaper to run.   Also don't miss the VAT advice in the "How To Pay For It" section - your project might qualify for a zero-rate of VAT.  

 

Applications for 2024/25 funding can be submitted at any time until the closing date on 12 July 2024.

To access the guidelines and download an application form, please click the links below.

All applications should be downloaded and submitted, with all the accompanying paperwork, to GRCC by email to louisef@grcc.org.uk or by post to:

GRCC
Community House
15 College Green
Gloucester
GL1 2LZ

On 9th April 2024 we held an online information session for the Cotswold District Council Rural England Prosperity Fund - Community Infrastructure Capital Grants.  Please see the notes from the Q&A and the slides from the presentation for extra information.