Local Places for Nature

Local Places for Nature is a capital grant scheme intended to enable areas of highest deprivation, peri urban/urban communities and/or those with least access to nature in Wales to restore and enhance nature 'on your doorstep'.

This funding is primarily for: *projects located or servicing the needs of communities in the 50% most deprived areas OR *community food growing projects anywhere in Wales OR *organisations/groups representing a black, Asian or minority ethnic community from any part of Wales

If the project area falls within the 50% LEAST deprived of areas you may still be able to apply for funding, particularly if your project will increase the involvement of a wider range of people in natural heritage and/or if those affected by the project have a specific need. Please email us with brief details, including the postcode of the project site, so we can further advise.

We are offering two levels of grant: *£10,000–£100,000 for capital projects that will acquire, restore and enhance nature in areas of deprivation. *£100,000-£250,000. We are offering a limited number of grants up to £250,000. We are particularly interested if your project is located in or near one of the 50% most deprived communities or if you are engaging with a specific need. Deprivation is measured using the overall deprivation measure in the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation. Please use your postcode to check your eligibility against the overall deprivation measure using the interactive map.

We are particularly looking for projects that can be seen 'from your doorstep'. This means where people live, work, access public services, travel and spend their leisure time.

We can fund projects that involve the purchase of land that is (or will be) important as local places for nature, and are at or below market value.

What the Local Places for Nature scheme offers: *up to one year of grant funding for nature projects worth up to £250,000. *up to 100% funding *funding for not-for-profit organisations (statutory and third sector) with a bank account and a constitution *pre-application advice

Timings: *decisions within eight weeks of application *the grant programme will remain open until funds are exhausted *we encourage you to apply as soon as possible, so that you have more time to deliver your project

Requirements: *projects must be able to maintain the asset long term, and provide a maintenance plan as a supporting document to any funding application *funding cannot be used for the running cost of organisations or routine maintenance costs of existing assets