A share of £7.6-million in funding is available for projects which aim to give a boost to local communities by supporting regeneration, resilience or wellbeing.

Cornwall Council has launched the next round of funding under the Community Levelling Up Programme, offering grants of between £5,000 and £200,000.

Stoke Climsland Parish Council was one of the recipients of the first round of funding, receiving £54,648 to set up a home retrofit advice service for local residents wanting to reduce their energy consumption.

Derris Watson, Stoke Climsland Parish Council clerk, said: "Stoke Climsland Parish Council is grateful that funding from the Community Levelling Up Programme will enable us to do some really practical work to support those in our community who live in homes that are cold or damp or just very expensive to heat. Many houses are stone built, in rural areas and off the gas network and require specific measures to bring them up to aa acceptable EPC rating."

The grants aim to support projects that tackle priorities for funding identified by local communities across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

Applications are welcomed from community organisations, CICs, CIOs, charities, businesses and town or parish councils.

Projects could include:

  • Refurbishing, re-purposing, renovating, and creating new buildings on high streets and within neighbourhood to increase economic activity and pride in place
  • New or improvements to existing community and neighbourhood infrastructure
  • Projects that deliver improved public spaces and economic regeneration
  • Engagement schemes to support community involvement in decision making in local regeneration
  • Capital investment (equipment / infrastructure), as well as revenue investment (salaries / contracting)
  • Projects that make places more accessible and/or more resilient to natural hazards.

Cllr Louis Gardner, Cornwall Council portfolio holder for economy, said: “We saw a lot of great applications come in for the first round of Community Levelling Up, with £1.75m shared by 25 projects. This new pot of money will enable even more projects to access the funding they need. I encourage anyone with a great idea for levelling up their community to get in touch with their local facilitator as soon as possible.”

Cllr Steve Sims, Isles of Scilly Council portfolio holder for transport, economy and tourism said: "The Community Levelling Up Programme will provide opportunities for a wide range of Island based organisations including community organisations, businesses, faith groups and the Council to access funds that are focused on delivering outcomes to communities where previous economic funds may have had limited reach. We welcome our initial allocation of £51,730 and are keen to hear from local organisations for expressions of interest to access these funds and the wider performance reserve of circa £3 million. We are also pleased that a local facilitator role has been created to support Island based applications to the fund.”

Potential applicants can access advice and support through a team of facilitators available to help develop funding bids. For more information email [email protected]

For more information on the Community Levelling Up Programme go to Community Levelling Up Programme - Cornwall Council