Published: Wednesday, 5th April 2023
The Borough Council of King’s Lynn and West Norfolk has secured funding from the Government to support schemes that help to create a sense of community, pride and belonging.
It is now inviting bids for grants of £500-£10,000 for this funding from the Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund. These bids could come from organisations and enterprises that have ideas for ways to create positive change for the borough.
Grants will be awarded for ideas in three categories:
- ‘Seed’ funding for ideas that will help new arts, cultural, heritage and creative activities to get up and running. Bids could be for new events and exhibitions, the creation of ‘maker spaces’, helping people to collaborate. Alternatively, it could also be for research into new ideas to support the wider local arts, cultural, heritage and creative offer across the borough.
- Town Centre Improvement Grants. Investment will be considered for projects that enhance the character and vibrancy of our three main urban centres: King’s Lynn, Downham Market and Hunstanton. Bids might include improvements to public spaces, such as installation of street art or furniture, and improvement of areas such as the high street. They can also be around how town centres link with their communities, for example by improving accessibility or neighbourhood safety, or involving youth centres and public libraries to create new community connections.
- Visitor Economy Development Grants. Projects in this category could be borough wide but must support the sustainable, year-round development and promotion (both trade and consumer) of the visitor economy. Projects might include the development of visitor trails and tours, the development, promotion and upkeep of local tourist attractions or the establishment of local visitor experiences.
All projects proposed should be considerate of the environment, for example by being energy efficient, encouraging walking and cycling and incorporating environmentally-friendly measures.
The borough council’s regeneration programmes manager, Jemma Curtis, said:
“This is a great opportunity for communities with good ideas to get some funding to deliver local improvements that will have wide-ranging benefits across the borough.
“Our website has lots of ideas to get people started with thinking about the types of projects that could be funded, for example creating ‘maker spaces’, hosting cultural events, improving green spaces, making better use of community spaces and developing visitor experiences.”
The scheme is open to local authorities, public sector organisations, private enterprises, higher and further education institutions, voluntary organisations, registered charities, social enterprises where they engage in economic activity, organisations representing a specific sector and community organisations. Recipients must have legal status and be located and operating with legal UK status in the borough. To be successful, applicants will need to demonstrate that their project can be fully delivered by 31 March 2024 and demonstrate how it will add value to the local area. A minimum of 25% match funding is required.
Applications are now open and must be submitted by 21 May. For full details, including how to apply, visit UKSPF West Norfolk Grant Scheme – Now Open | Borough Council of King's Lynn & West Norfolk (west-norfolk.gov.uk).
Q&A sessions will be held online via Microsoft Teams on the dates listed below. If you would like to attend one of these sessions please email westnorfolkspf@west-norfolk.gov.uk to book a space.
Sessions will be limited to 10 participants and must be pre-booked. Additional sessions will be arranged if demand exceeds availability.
- Tuesday 18 April 1-2pm
- Thursday 20 April 2-3pm
- Tuesday 25 April 11am-12pm