Following a successful first round, the Lake District Foundation has received 35 registrations from organisations within the Lake District National Park in round 2, spread geographically across Allerdale, Copeland, Eden, South Lakeland District Council. The second round closed for registrations on Thursday 14th October 2021 5:00PM
Organisations that registered included limited companies, sole traders, registered charities and partnerships, and covered a range of sectors including Education, Food Production, Hospitality and leisure, Retail, Transport, Arts and Religion.
The majority of organisations employ under 10 people showing how important these funding sources are to small businesses.
Organisations were interested to receive support for the following types of projects; Solar PV, heat pumps, biomass boilers, insulation, LED lighting , energy efficient appliances, infrared heating and rainwater harvesting.
We look forward to assessing the eligibility of these organisations and hearing more about their Low Carbon projects in due course. The aim of this grant fund is to achieve savings of 86 tonnes of CO2 across the park.
Qualifying organisations will be awarded up to 60% of project costs, helping to make the move to low carbon technologies and practices more affordable.
To be notified when the next round opens for registrations (likely Spring 2022) please sign up to our newsletter here https://www.lakedistrictfoundation.org/apply-for-a-grant/
About this project
This project is supported by the European Structural Investment Fund as part of the Low Carbon Lake District Project.
The Low Carbon Lake District initiative is a comprehensive programme to help tackle climate change in the National Park, working in partnership with local businesses and communities to reduce greenhouse gases and prepare for the impacts of climate change. Led by the Lake District National Park Authority, other key partners include the Lake District Foundation, the National Trust, South Lakeland District Council and Cumbria Tourism.
The project has received funding from the England European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014- 2020. The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and the Department for Work and Pensions (and in London the intermediate body Greater London Authority) are the Managing Authorities for European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund funding through the Growth Programme, funds established by the European Union to help local areas stimulate their economic development. By investing in projects the funds will help to support innovation, businesses, skills and employment to improve local growth and create jobs. For more information visit: https://www.gov.uk/europeangrowth-funding
The Northern Powerhouse is a key aspect of this Government’s approach to addressing the productivity gap in the North and ensuring a stronger, more sustainable economy for all parts of the UK. Alongside over €1.5 billion of European Regional Development Fund support for businesses and communities across the North, the government has awarded £3.4 billion in three rounds of Growth Deals across the Northern Powerhouse.
State Aid Notice
This is a fantastic opportunity for businesses and community groups to make a real difference to the sustainability of Cumbria, to build back better, and create a greener future.
In order to avoid public funding distorting competition within the European common market, the European Commission sets limits on the levels of assistance which the public sector can provide to businesses (“the state aid rules”).
Any assistance provided through this scheme will comply with the state aid rules by applying De Minimis Exemption, EC Regulation 1407/2013 (24 December 2013) in the first instance, and the General Block Exemption Regulation (GBER), EC Regulation 651/2014 (17 June 2014) may also be applied.
Photo credit: Oliver Rudkin / 10:10