‘Shovel ready’ projects in Caithness can seek council funding
Highland Council is inviting community groups and organisations in Caithness to submit expressions of interest for Community Regeneration Funding (CRF).
The funding is available to finance “capital projects that will respond to the needs of their local areas and deliver positive impacts”.
Community Regeneration Funding is an umbrella term being used to cover multiple community-led external funding programmes being administered by the Highland Council. This includes the Highland Coastal Communities Fund, Place-Based Investment Programme and Community-Led Local Development funds.
The deadline to submit an Expression of Interest is noon on Friday, March 28 and the projects must be community-led.
Councillor Ken Gowans, chair of the council’s economy and infrastructure committee, said: “This first round of CRF has specific criteria in which applicants can bid into, and projects must be concluded and claimed by the end of February next year. We are encouraging shovel ready capital projects that will support community development to come forward and submit an Expression of Interest before the deadline of 28 March.
“The demand for funding year on year highlights the huge effort from the community and the third sector in striving to achieve positive outcomes for local communities so I encourage anyone interested to get their expressions of interest submitted to the team by the deadline.”
Applications that deliver against the following priorities are particularly sought:
• Projects that support volunteers/volunteering initiatives
• Projects that build capacity in community groups
• Projects that promote or raise awareness of existing initiatives to support groups or individuals with the cost-of-living crisis
• Projects that create jobs or build economic growth in an area
• Projects that are actively tackling the climate emergency and working towards net zero
Applicants are reminded that this first round of CRF is for capital only projects. Project approvals are anticipated to be announced in April/May (pending confirmation of funds availability from Scottish Government) and applicants must be in a position to start from May 2025 and concluded and claimed no later than 28/02/2026.
Applicants can apply for up to 100 per cent project costs however they must demonstrate that there is a need for this level of intervention and that match funding options have been explored.
It is generally expected that funding requests should be a minimum of £5000 and a maximum of £100,000. Applicants should apply for the amount that is required for their project to be delivered.
Expressions of Interest should be submitted by noon Friday, March 28 and a copy of the form can be found on the council’s website where further information about the scheme is provided: www.highland.gov.uk/communityregeneration
