Applications sought for latest round of £970,000 Crown Estate Scotland fund

A £970,000 fund designed to support projects and ideas to benefit the environment and communities has opened for its third round of applications.

Crown Estate Scotland’s Sustainable Communities Fund, which started in 2020, has already delivered around £620,000 in support across the country.

It consists of two grant programmes:

• Community capacity grants – open to all communities within five miles of Scotland’s coastline, or one of Crown Estate Scotland’s four rural estates. Early-stage financial support is available for community projects that will contribute to local regeneration and sustainable development. Grants will range between £20,000 and £50,000, with a total of £250,000 being made available in this year of the programme.
• Environment grants – available to Crown Estate Scotland tenants, providing grants of between £5000 and £20,000 for projects that can deliver demonstrable environmental benefits within 18 months of an award being made. A total of £100,000 is available this year.

A wide range of projects and initiatives have benefited from the Sustainable Communities Fund in recent years. These include a feasibility study for Scourie Community Development Company in Sutherland on opportunities for seaweed farming and processing, a plan by Edinbane Community Company on Skye to reopen a vacant village shop, and Craignish Mooring Association's plans for community-led seagrass planting in Argyll to help "seawilding" efforts and support a range of organisms.

Annie Breaden, head of policy for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “The level of interest from communities across Scotland in the Sustainable Communities Fund has been fantastic. We’re really pleased to be supporting such a diverse array of projects including initiatives that are making a practical difference to people now as well as longer-term developments.

“Applying to the fund is easy, and the grants available can provide the financial backing to turn aspirations and great ideas into reality.”

Full details about the application process and how grants will be allocated can be found on the Crown Estate Scotland website.

The deadline for expressions of interest for the community capacity programme, which is administered by Foundation Scotland, is September 19. The deadline for the environment grants programme, administered by Crown Estate Scotland, is October 14.

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