Steve Double, Member of Parliament for St Austell and Newquay has encouraged Mid-Cornwall community led groups and projects in rural areas to apply for The Prince’s Countryside Fund grants, which bidding has now opened for.
Commenting, Steve said:
“It is great to see bids again open for funding for The Prince’s Countryside Fund grants. As we have seen previously in Mid-Cornwall with the successful bid and continued growth of Newquay Community Orchards, this is funding that can have a real positive and tangible difference for projects such as this that do so much in our communities.”
“I encourage anyone interested to bid and wish them luck with the process!”
Jen Andrews from Newquay Community Orchard said:
“Our grant from The Prince’s Countryside Fund has enabled us to do so much - we have helped to foster an interest in rural skills to bridge the ever-widening gap in the understanding of the care, attention and sheer effort that our food producers put into creating our food.
“We also wanted to inspire careers in the rural sector and have been training disengaged young people in Practical Outdoors and Employability skills - we hope to see more young people getting into the rural sector, it has so much to offer!”
Claire Saunders, Director of the Fund said:
“This is a critical time for people and businesses in our rural areas, and we are seeking applicants for our grant programme who can help to ensure that their rural communities can thrive now and in the future.
“We want to hear from innovative and creative community led projects that are responding to local needs and would urge people to consider applying. Whether this is bringing new life to your village shop and pub, increasing access to rural employment and training, or bringing together farming communities, we would love to hear from you.”
Funding is also available for projects that will improve the prospects of viability for family farm businesses, for example by providing training or education schemes.
The Fund’s grant giving helps to support a diverse range of projects, often delivered locally by grassroots organisations and community groups, and since the Fund was set up by HRH The Prince of Wales in 2010 it has distributed more than £9 million to communities across the UK.
Grant applications can be made from April 30th to June 14th 2018. Find out more and read the full eligibility and guidance document at www.princescountrysidefund.org.uk/grants or contact Helen Aldis on 020 7566 6659 or Helen.Aldis@bitc.org.uk