Durham County Council has been selected to bid for a £3m government fund which supports people and communities.
In its budget, the government announced a new UK Community Renewal Fund, which aims to help areas prepare for the UK Shared Prosperity Fund in 2022 by piloting new programmes for people and communities.
Durham County Council has been identified as the lead authority and has been invited to submit a bid of up to £3 million for the Community Renewal Fund.
For this funding, the council must invite bids from a range of project applicants and produce a shortlist to submit to the government of bids that have the greatest potential to deliver against investment and key local growth priorities.
Projects must align with at least one of the following investment priorities: investment in skills, investment in local businesses, investment in communities and place, and supporting local people into employment.
The council is encouraging larger projects of £500,000 and over where possible, and interested organisations are advised to read the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and the UK Community Fund Technical Note for Project Applicants and Deliverers for further detail on the funding. This can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-community-renewal-fund-prospectus
Bids must be submitted by 12 noon Tuesday, May 11 using the UK Community Renewal Fund application form at Gov.uk: UK Community Renewal Fund – prospectus, technical note and application form
Funding announcements will be made from July 2021 onwards.
Amy Harhoff, Durham County Council’s director of regeneration, economy and growth, said: “We are inviting bids from projects across the county which will support communities through investment in skills, investment in local businesses, investment in communities and place, and supporting local people into employment.
“Organisations are encouraged to submit a bid and can find further detail through the Community Renewal Fund Prospectus.
“Going forward to the significant funding available from the UK Prosperity Fund it is extremely important that wider funding for the county is secured to ensure we can deliver important programmes to support our communities and businesses to drive a prosperous economy and sustainable environment.”
Further details of the fund can be found at durham.gov.uk/crf.
