East Devon District Council is welcoming grant applications to its Culture, Leisure and Tourism Fund (CLTF), which opened this week.

The CLTF provides grants to community organisations in East Devon to help decarbonise the culture, leisure, and tourism sectors. Grants will also be available for a limited number of tourism businesses to help them decarbonise or to improve the accessibility of their business.

Charities can apply for grants of up to £20,000 for the work, while business are eligible for grants of up to £5,000. 

Cllr Nick Hookway, portfolio holder for culture, leisure, sport and tourism, said: "This pot of money could have a significant impact on some of our local organisations, who may already be keen to support our carbon neutral ambitions but lack the funds to make their own premises more efficient.

"I would encourage anyone working in the leisure, culture and tourism sectors in East Devon to take a look at the full details and see if they can apply and benefit from the scheme."

To be eligible community organisations must be supporting local cultural or leisure schemes in rural communities, own or lease their own buildings and must commit to match funding at least 10% of any grant awarded.

Businesses which apply must be supporting the local tourism sector and commit to at least 50% match funding to be eligible for the scheme.

This scheme has received almost £160,000 from the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with a further £320,000 allocated for the fund to run again in 2024.

Organisations can use funding awarded towards decarbonisation projects such as loft insultation, solar panels and double glazing. Businesses can also apply to help with decarbonisation or they can apply for support to improve accessibility in their buildings, such installing ramps, stairlifts or hearing loops.

The CLTF opened for applications on Monday and closes on July 21. Applications will be reviewed and a final decision is due to be announced to the applicants in mid September.

The full criteria and application process guidance is available to view on EDDC's website.

For more information or if you have an enquiry about a potential project, contact [email protected]