Community Renewal Funding

Tender description

Cheshire West and Chester Council (CW&C) is seeking bids from organisations wishing to deliver activity as part of the UK Community Renewal Fund. Please read the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and the UK Community Fund Technical Note for Project Applicants and Deliverers before starting work on a bid. They are available here. The Prospectus provides detailed information on the objectives of the Fund, the types of projects it intends to support and how it operates, including the process and selection criteria that will be used to assess bids. Successful UK Community Renewal Fund bids will be for 2021/22 only and activity must end in March 2022. Background To help local areas prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the UK Government is providing funding in 2021/22 through the UK Community Renewal Fund. We are interested in bids that build on local insight and knowledge, and project proposals that align with long-term strategic plans for local growth, target people most in need and support community renewal. In addition, projects should show how they complement other national and local provision. A focus for this Fund is to support innovation and new ideas in these areas, investing in pilots that draw on local insights and which will help places to prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022. CW&C has been designated as a lead authority by the UK Government. As a lead authority, CW&C is responsible for: • issuing this invitation • receiving bids • selecting the bids that will be sent to UK Government for consideration • paying grants to successful projects and manging their performance Full details of the role of lead authorities can be found in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus. What type of bids are we looking for? Projects must deliver activity that is line with the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and align with at least one of these investment priorities: • Investment in skills • Investment for local business • Investment in communities and place • Supporting people into employment There are no financial allocations to these priorities. The UK Government anticipates supporting a range of projects by theme and size, but applicants are encouraged to maximise impact and deliverability through larger projects (£500,000+) where this is possible. As 90% of funding available through the UK Community Renewal Fund is revenue funding and only available in 2021/22, projects should be predominantly, or exclusively revenue based. Projects that focus predominantly on the construction or major refurbishment of buildings, the purchase of land or the purchase of large pieces of equipment will not be supported. Keywords: community