SSE Clyde wind farm fund

Overview

Over the life of the Fund it is expected that £17.5million will be invested in local projects.

The funding is provided by SSE Renewables and is currently worth around £929,000 a year. It is administered by South Lanarkshire Council on SSE’s behalf.

The Fund has two distinct elements: the community fund and the development fund.

Community fund

This is a grant awarding fund and receives 70% of the annual income. South Lanarkshire communities within 15km of the wind farm are eligible to apply as shown on the map.

The Community fund provides financial support for capital projects that meet one of the Fund priorities which are summarised as follows:

to secure investment, create employment, implement training, promote or secure sustainable development
to relieve or prevent poverty, advance education and other social purposes beneficial to a community
to preserve, protect or enhance the environment or heritage of Scotland, including any buildings;
to promote and encourage environmental improvement or enhancement including the provision upgrading of infrastructure
to provide or assist in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time activities or the organisation of recreational activities
for the advancement of citizenship or community development
for the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
for the relief of those in need by reason of age, ill-health disability, financial hardship or other disadvantage
for the advancement of public participation in sport
subject to the prior written approval of the Developer, revenue support for capital project funded under this Agreement
for fees, outlays, preparation and or preliminary work which an applicant requires to carry out prior to submission of an application for project funding

There are two funding options:

the small grant scheme - provides grants of less than £10,000 and up to 100% of total 'eligible' costs.
the community fund – provides grants over £10,000 and up to 75% of eligible costs with a requirement for match funding

The Inner host communities, for example the communities closest to the windfarms, are able to benefit from an additional 25% grant funding. These communities are Crawford, Elvanfoot, Abington, and Roberton. The funding option for these communities is as follows:

the small grant scheme - provides grants of less than £12,500 and up to 100% of total 'eligible' costs.
the community fund – provides grants over £12,500 and up to 100% of eligible costs.

Within the community fund there is no limit to the value of the grant that can be applied for - the maximum award is determined by the available funding and the level of grant awarded is dependent on the strength of the project including how the project delivers against the funds priorities, local community support and strength of the supporting evidence for the project.

For projects applying to the community fund, for example for the grant awards above £10,000/£12,500 small grants scheme, it is anticipated that applicants seek and evidence appropriate match funding other than just this Fund. Additional funders can bring additional benefits guidance and support the following site delivered in partnership between SCVO and South Lanarkshire Council provides information on additional external funding

Who can apply?

To be eligible to apply for funding from the Community Fund including the small Grant Scheme your project must be within a 15km radius of the Clyde Wind Farm and meet one or more of the priorities Applications will be accepted from:

public organisations and agencies
partnerships, trusts, co-operatives and other non-government organisations
community groups, associations or organisations
any social enterprise or not for profit organisation located, or offering a service benefiting communities, within a 10km radius of participating developments

Applications will be considered from outside the 15km radius but within the Council Area if it can be clearly demonstrated that the communities and people within the area will benefit and there is community support locally. Funding will only be awarded to these projects on the agreement of both the Council and Developer.

How to apply

Start enquiry

There is no deadline for applications this is an open fund.

Additional Information on the fund, awards and guidance will linked to this page

The Clyde Community Fund cannot fund the following:

Projects which do not benefit people living within 15km of a contributing windfarm
Has as its primary aim the promotion of any specific political or religious purpose
Replaces funding for projects which have already had funding allocated to them or for which funding is likely to be available through the public sector
May adversely affect or work against the interests of the Windfarm or landowners of the Site
The repayment of loans or payment of debts
Costs already incurred or activities which will take place before we have made a decision on an application (retrospective funding).
revenue projects that have recurring costs such as salaries or ongoing utility/maintenance costs
projects that restrict access from an equal opportunities perspective

How your enquiry and application will be managed

Following your registration and submission of an enquiry this will be reviewed and if eligible moved to an application stage within the Grantvisor system.

Complete the application within the Grantvisor system with sufficient information and justification of the project. An officer can answer questions and provide guidance through the system.

On completion of the form including uploading quotes and other documents submit the completed application on the system.

Following the submission of the application allow for six weeks for your application to be assessed and a decision. If applications are incomplete or lack detail this timescale may be longer.

Award decision and grant conditions will be sent out to the contact on the application.

The development fund

This fund receives 30% of the annual income. It provides support for the delivery of employability and training projects that benefit communities/residents across South Lanarkshire. For more information please email FundingAndDevelopment@southlanarkshire.gov.uk