Pembrokeshire Coast National Park Authority’s Sustainable Development Fund will be streamlining operations and changing its focus over the coming year in response to the growing climate change emergency.
The Park Authority allocates over £150,000 per year to the Fund, and over the last two decades it has supported more than 200 individual projects offering social, environmental, economic and cultural benefits to communities within the National Park.
These have included the construction of eco-homes from locally-sourced materials, green power schemes, programmes to control the spread of invasive non-native plant species and grants for local visitor attractions.
Following recommendations of the Park Authority’s Climate Change Emergency Action Plan, an emphasis will now be placed on supporting decarbonisation.
This new approach will see applicants applying for one of three specific carbon reduction projects – installing renewable energy generation facilities to community buildings, promoting the reduction of carbon emissions in transport, or installing community facilities that minimise waste – with a fourth option for any other community-based carbon reduction initiative.
The application process has also been made more efficient with the introduction of an online eligibility checklist, publicised deadlines with clear guidelines on the length of projects and amount of funding available, a simplified application form and up to two deadlines per year for submitting an application.
The next deadline for applications will be 12 noon on Friday 2 October 2020.
Funding Grants Officer for the National Park Jess Morgan said:
“As well as tackling the climate emergency head on, the proposed changes will make the scheme more efficient and lead to other improvements in cost effectiveness, transparency and the amount of staff time spent on administration and support.
“By adopting this new approach we’ll be in a better position to measure the impact of the fund. For example, we could calculate the reduction in carbon emissions due to the installation of photo voltaic panels on a village hall.”
An additional £50,000 (to be spent by March 2021) has been allocated to Fund by the Welsh Government Sustainable Landscape Sustainable Places scheme for capital decarbonisation projects.
The scheme will go live and be open for applications at the end of August. For further information, visit www.pembrokeshirecoast.wales/sdf or contact Jess Morgan at the Park Authority on 01646 624808 or email jessicam@pembrokeshirecoast.org.uk.
