Guidance to Cannock Chase AONB Sustainable Development Fund The Government has recently established a Sustainable Development Fund for each of the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) in England . As a result, Cannock Chase AONB has a £40,000 grant scheme for the financial year 2006/07 to help you with projects that will look after the AONB for now and the future. Applications can be for small grants of less than £1,500 and there is no upper limit (not exceeding the £40,000). What kind of project is eligible? Your application will be assessed against the criteria listed below. It is expected that successful projects will meet all of the core criteria, and as many as possible, but not necessarily every desirable and local criteria. Core criteria: • Further the purposes of AONBs - conserves or enhances natural beauty (eg local characteristics of landscape, wildlife, culture and community). Desirable criteria: • Involve young people Local criteria: In addition to the above criteria, the following local focus is favoured in award decisions: • Encouraging volunteering work Projects put forward for funding in this round must be completed by 31 st March 2007 . If you feel your project is not achievable within that timescale please talk to us to discuss the possibility of registering an expression of interest for next year. Who can apply? • Public, private, voluntary sector, community groups, individuals and businesses can apply from within or outside the AONB. Please see the enclosed map of the AONB (also available on the AONB website www.cannock-chase.co.uk ). You must simply demonstrate that your project will have a direct positive impact upon the AONB, have a wider public benefit and satisfy the core criteria of the grant. Your project must comply with any relevant regulatory requirements. Community groups will need to have a basic constitution and a bank account in order to receive grant payments. How much can you apply for? Voluntary Sector and Private Sector - The voluntary sector includes voluntary and local community bodies, the National Trust, Rural Community Councils, Wildlife Trusts and Parish Councils. - Where voluntary sector or private sector take ownership of an SDF project (ie if the grant application is successful, the grant cheques will be paid to them), the grant panel has the flexibility to fund them up to 75%, taking the remaining 25% as funding or in-kind contributions from the voluntary sector. - In exceptional cases, where there is significant voluntary or "in kind" input (e.g. volunteer time or the loan of equipment, premises or land) and a very clear demonstration of community support, up to 100% funding may be provided. Public Bodies (non-Exchequer) - Public bodies not deemed to be Exchequer (or Central Government) funded include Local Authorities, National Lottery Funds, European Funds, Education Authorities and Hospital Trusts. - If the SDF project is owned by a public body which is not deemed to be Exchequer funded, the grant panel has the flexibility to match funds provided by that body with up to 50% from SDF. Public bodies will not be offered funding for projects which they would ordinarily or statutorily be responsible for. Exchequer Bodies - Exchequer funding comes from Central Government. - Exchequer organisations include British Waterways, Countryside Agency, Defra, English Heritage, English Nature, Environment Agency, Forestry Commission, Government Offices for the Region, Local Transport Funds and Regional Development Agencies. - SDF is counted as Exchequer funding. A maximum of 50% of total costs can be Exchequer funding. All Applicants - Applicants will normally be expected to provide at least 25% of the total costs of their project either from their own funds, 'in kind contributions' or other non - Exchequer funds such as Private Sector, European or Lottery funds. The source of any match funding must be clearly identified to avoid the possibility of double exchequer funding. - Volunteer costs are costed at £50 per day - Professional volunteers are costed at £150 per day - If the application is from non VAT registered organisation/body/individual the SDF can fund up to 75% of the gross cost of the project. (i.e. VAT cost can be met by the fund). - If the application is from a VAT registered organisation the SDF cannot meet any VAT costs (i.e. use figures excluding VAT). - In all cases, an agreement setting out what is required for satisfactory completion of the project will be signed prior to grant offer. No grant will be paid in respect of any works carried out prior to the applicant formally accepting the grant offer in writing. There will also be requirements about monitoring and recording the project's progress and outputs. How will your application be assessed? Applications for under £1500 • A 'fast-track' procedure to enable small projects to happen quickly and encourage small community groups, schools, parishes etc to get involved in making a difference locally. • The same criteria apply - although it is appreciated a small project may not have the scope to meet all the requirements. • The application will be assessed by the AONB Unit and one of the Grant Advisory Panel members (on occasions the AONB Unit and Panel member may decide to refer a small grant application to the Panel for determination). • Should you or your organisation have any issues over cash flow with regard to a potential SDF project, then please contact the AONB Unit to discuss these prior to your application. Applications for over £1500 - Will be assessed by the SDF Grant Panel of representatives with a range of community, business and environmental management interests. - Particularly complex projects may also include Technical Advisors on the Panel and/or require a case presentation to be made by the applicant. Project requests over £10,000 will be closely scrutinized. - Projects will be judged on how well they meet the core, desirable and local criteria. All Applications As there are limited funds available, projects will also be assessed in terms of benefits and value for money. Those projects able to demonstrate the potential to delivery a wide range of the Fund's objectives and which also offer value for money are more likely to successfully achieve grant support. Sustainability must be considered in all applications, for example, the use of locally sourced and/or sustainably managed materials. Whilst the Panel is authorised to deal with all applications, the scheme is overseen by the AONB Joint Committee. Any applications may be 'called in' for consideration by the Joint Committee, for example, where there is concern over financial mismanagement of the project, and the Joint Committee's decision will be final. The work of the SDF Grant Panel will be regularly reported to the Joint Committee and a summary of the applications, the decisions made and the outcomes of successful projects will also be reported to the Countryside Agency and ultimately to Defra to demonstrate the results of the Fund. Application Process - How and when to apply Applications will be considered on a first come, first served basis. There are no set dates by which you need to get your application in by, but the money will be allocated sooner rather than later in the financial year. Before you submit an application, please speak to us at the AONB Unit as we can guide and support the development of your application where appropriate. In order to speed up the decision making process, we are aiming to run this scheme on an electronic basis as much as possible. You will be able to complete and submit application forms via our website - www.cannockchaseaonb2.org.uk. Should this be in any way a problem for you, we are more than happy for applications to be made on a paper basis - please contact the AONB Unit for information. As applications progress we will ultimately require signed hardcopies from you for audit trail purposes. You are advised to fill in Part A of the Application Form and send it to the AONB Unit. The AONB Unit will aim to come back to you within 10 working days to discuss your project to see if it is eligible. You will then be asked to complete Part B of the Application Form in more detail and this information will be used for the formal assessment procedure. The AONB Unit will aim to acknowledge receipt of applications within ten working days. Applicants may in some instances be asked to provide further information. The AONB Unit will undertake a simple eligibility assessment and will come back to applicants if there is missing information or the project is not eligible. It is the responsibility of the applicants, not the AONB Unit, to see that they have supplied all the required information. Once all queries have been answered, a decision concerning the success of the application should be made within ten working days. The AONB Unit will endeavour to inform applicants within ten working days of the decision being made as to whether their application has been successful and, if so, the amount of grant they have been awarded. This will include written confirmation and, for successful applicants, a formal offer of grant aid with relevant terms and conditions. For all enquiries concerning the Cannock Chase AONB Sustainable Development Fund, please contact Helen Kennedy (Assistant AONB Officer) at the AONB Unit, Shugborough Park Farm, Milford , Stafford , ST17 0XB . Tel 01889 882613. Fax 01889 883912. Website www.cannock-chase.co.uk |