£1m Of Funding To Empower Highland Communities From UK Government

5th December 2023

The Highland Council is inviting applications from groups and organisations to the ‘Communities and Place' strand of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). £1 million of funding is available for capital and revenue projects, that will empower communities to build on their own strengths, support local needs, and deliver on the fund's main objective of ‘building pride in place and increasing life chances'.

Councillor Ken Gowans, Chair of The Highland Council's Economy and Infrastructure Committee said: "It has been confirmed three consecutive years of UK Shared Prosperity Funding will be available to local authorities, with an indicative allocation of over £9m for Highland. This is a considerable investment for our communities, and a chance to build a fairer and more resilient Highland region. The Communities and Place strand is one of the three priorities this allocation will be delivered by the Highland Council, and we encourage eligible organisations to apply by the deadline date of 5pm 22 January 2024.

Administered under the Community Regeneration Funding umbrella, the areas of intervention under the ‘Communities and Place’ strand of the UKSPF we are currently inviting applications to come forward for are,

Projects that will deliver:

* Place based investments, regeneration and town centre improvements
* Community assets and infrastructure improvements
* Digital infrastructure for local community facilities

The application process has been simplified with only an application form to be completed along with the submission of supporting documentation. On-line funding engagement sessions have been arranged on 11 January at 10am and 7pm for applicants who wish to discuss their proposal in advance of submitting an application form. The link to join the session can be found on the Community Regeneration Funding website.

If you are applying under the ‘Place based investments, regeneration and town centre improvements’ or ‘Community assets and infrastructure improvements’ intervention, a minimum grant of £25k and up to a maximum of £100k is available.

If you are applying under the ‘Digital infrastructure for local community facilities’ intervention, a minimum grant of £5k and up to a maximum of £25k capital funding is available.

All applicants must be able to demonstrate they have secured match funding of at least 25% of project costs. Final funding decisions will be made in time for projects to start by 1 April 2024, however projects must have all the necessary statutory requirements and match funding confirmation by 12 February 2024. All projects must be concluded and fully claimed by 31 March 2025.

Please visit www.highland.gov.uk/communityregeneration for further information on how to apply, download the application form, and access the link to join the on-line engagement sessions. Alternatively, contact the Community Regeneration Funding Team at communityregenerationteam@highland.gov.uk if you have any queries about the fund.

The deadline to submit an application form and supporting documentation is by 5pm 22 January 2024.

As part of the Levelling Up agenda, the UK Government launched in 2022 the UK Shared Prosperity Fund with an aim to support levelling up opportunities for local communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The UK Government have been working closely with local leaders in Scotland to direct funding where it is most needed. The fund succeeds the EU Structural Funds and aims to invest in three priorities: Communities and Place, Support for Local Businesses and People and Skills.