Community Renewal Fund guidance

Background

To help local areas prepare for the future Shared Prosperity Fund, government has set up the UK Community Renewal Fund for 2021/22. Applications for the fund will be managed by the county council as the designated lead authority for Derbyshire and submission of project proposals will be via this website.

We are interested in bids that build on insight and knowledge of local communities and the issues they face. Project proposals should align with our long-term strategic plans for growth, target people most in need and support community renewal. In addition, projects should show how they complement (but not duplicate) other national and local provision. A particular focus for this fund is to support innovation and new ideas in these areas.

The role of lead authority means Derbyshire County Council is responsible for:

• issuing this open invitation to bid for funding
• receiving applications for funding
• assessing, prioritising and selecting the bids that will be sent to government for consideration
• paying grants to successful projects (once the government has chosen them) and monitoring their performance

Full details of the role of lead authorities can be found in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus.

What type of bids are we looking for?

Projects must deliver activity that is line with the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and align with at least one of these investment priorities:

• investment in skills
• investment for local business
• investment in communities and place
• supporting people into employment

There are no financial allocations to these priorities.

Government anticipates supporting a range of projects by theme and size, but applicants are encouraged to maximise impact and deliverability through larger projects (£500,000+) where this is possible.

As 90% of funding available through the UK Community Renewal Fund is revenue funding and only available in 2021/22, projects should be predominantly, or exclusively revenue based. Projects that focus predominantly on the construction or major refurbishment of buildings, the purchase of land or the purchase of large pieces of equipment will not be supported.

Local priorities

In assessing and selecting the bids that will be sent to government for consideration, we will prioritise the bids that have the greatest potential to deliver against key local growth priorities. The most recent and relevant policy documents that set out the county’s growth and renewal ambitions are theCOVID-19 Economic Development and Skills and Employment Recovery Strategies. Applicants are encouraged to consider and demonstrate links to other local economic growth and recovery strategies, including those for High Peak and Derbyshire Dales and for the D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership which outline our wider ambitions around skills, employment and place.

Geographic coverage

Derbyshire Dales and High Peak have been identified as 2 of the 100 areas prioritised for access to the fund. This is based on an index of economic measures around productivity, household income, unemployment, skills and population density. This doesn’t mean that other places cannot apply though; applications from other areas that demonstrate a good ‘strategic fit’, delivery and impact may also receive funding.

As a lead authority, we are eligible to submit a shortlist of projects up to a maximum of £3 million per priority place.

Bids may cover a single local authority area, or a number of local authority areas. Projects may be limited to priority places or operate across priority and non-priority places.

How will bids be assessed?

As the lead authority, we will assess all those bids that are submitted in line with the timescales set out. Bids will be submitted and assessed against:

• the gateway criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus – bids that fail to meet these criteria are ineligible for support and will be rejected
• the extent to which they meet the objectives of UK Community Renewal Fund
• the extent to which they would support the delivery of local growth and employment support priorities

Following assessment, we will prioritise and submit to government those eligible bids which most strongly meet the UK Community Renewal Fund and local priorities, up to a maximum of £3 million per place.

It is important to note that organisations cannot submit bids direct to the government, they must be submitted bids to the lead authority.

Government will then assess all bids submitted by lead authorities against the criteria set out in the UK Community Renewal Fund Prospectus and will announce the outcome of the assessment process from late July 2021 onwards.

We will enter into a funding agreement with successful bidders.

Privacy notice

A privacy notice will be published shortly that confirms how bid information will be handled and how confidential data will be protected as part of the application process.

Process timescales

All information provided on these pages is understood to be correct as of 31 March 2021. Please keep checking for any updates on timescales.