Communities across Scotland are being encouraged to apply for a fund which will benefit the environment and their local areas.

Crown Estate Scotland’s Sustainable Communities Fund was set up in 2020 and has already delivered more than £1.4 million in valuable support to people across the country, including 12 affordable housing projects which have shared in more than £400,000.

They are now opening up a fund worth £425,000 and it is designed to support projects and ideas which benefit the environment and local communities.

The fund, which is split into two, includes the Community Capacity Grants which will range between £20,00 and £50,000 up to a total of £300,000 is open to all communities within five miles of Scotland’s coastline, or one of Crown Estate Scotland’s four rural estates which are Glenlivet, Fochabers, Applegirth and Whitehill.

Early stage financial support is available to those projects that will contribute to local regeneration and sustainable development.

Read More: 

Environment Grants will be made available to Crown Estate Scotland tenants and is open to projects which can deliver demonstrable environmental benefits with 18 months of an award being made. A total of £125,000 is available for that this year, with grants ranging between £5,000 and £20,000.

The fund has been successful and brought major improvements to communities across the country in recent years, leading Crown Estate Scotland to increase their level of funding in it.

An extra £100,000 has been made available and has previously helped the development of modern, affordable, energy efficient workspaces for local business in the Highlands as well as a community led initiative to regenerate Kirkcaldy town centre by repurposing and filling vacant shops.

A community-owned energy company in Argyll & Bute to provide islanders with clean, green, sustainable energy and the installation of a solar photovoltaic (PV) array with estimated annual CO2 savings of almost 12,000KG in Ullapool have also been helped by the fund among many others.

One area to have benefited from the Sustainable Communities Fund is Edinbane in Skye, where local people received £25,000 to support their plans to reopen a derelict shop as a new community centre, offering services for residents and visitors alike.

Alistair Danter from the Edinbane Community Company said: “The money is invaluable because doing a community shop - when all eyes are on you - is even more difficult than trying to set one up as an individual. Applying to the Sustainable Communities Fund was straightforward and I would encourage anyone to apply.”

Penny Coles, Head of Partnerships for Crown Estate Scotland, said: “Over the past four years the Sustainable Communities Fund has provided an incredible £1.4m in the form of practical support to a diverse array of projects across Scotland, helping people and their communities to achieve the priorities most important to them locally.  

“We’re now looking for new applications so that even more people can get the support to turn their aspirations and ideas into reality.”  

Full details on the application process and how grants will be allocated can be found here.  

The deadline for Expressions of Interest for the Community Capacity Grants Programme, which is administered by Foundation Scotland, is Monday 23 September. The deadline for the Environment Grants Programme, which is administered by Crown Estate Scotland, is Monday 23 October.