Minutes:
The Project Officer (Climate & Environment) presented the oral update and informed the Committee that:
· In advance of the sixth round of applications to the Grant, opening in April 2024, the application criteria and guidance had been reviewed and clarifications to the guidance had been proposed.
· The grant themes and objectives were to remain the same, with applications invited under the theme of “reducing carbon emissions” or “community engagement”.
· With regard to applications from nature projects:
- No nature projects had been funded in the previous grant cycle as, whilst several nature-based applications were received, they were submitted under the “community engagement category” but the applications did not adequately demonstrate how the project would engage people on climate issues or promote behaviour change.
- The guidance was to be amended to direct “pure” nature projects towards more suitable funding sources, such as the Community Chest Biodiversity pot or the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Fund for Nature.
- Clarifications to the guidance were to emphasise the need for nature projects to clearly define themselves as community engagement or carbon reduction projects to ensure they fit the criteria.
· Following comments from the Grants Advisory Committee, the updated guidance would request that applications involving solar photovoltaic panels provide a minimum of three quotes for panels to improve value for money.
· Regarding calculations of avoided emissions resulting from projects, the e-form for submitting applications was to be amended to request that emissions calculations use the methodology provided in the guidance, allowing for greater ease of comparison when assessing applications.
In the discussion, Members enquired as to if previous examples of successful applications under the community engagement heading could be shared with prospective applicants, with the example of including them in the Zero Carbon Communities newsletter being given. Officers provided clarity on the existing guidance around community engagement projects and agreed to take away the comment on providing examples of previous successful projects, stating that this could be incorporated into the advertising of the grant scheme and workshops with applicants to the scheme. Further Member comment was made, reflecting on the success of the Council’s Local Climate Action Conference 2023 and the example of the community electric vehicle charging project led by Steeple Morden Parish Council, that providing examples of successful projects was very useful to residents and community groups.
A question was raised as to if schools could apply to the grant to support projects such as community eco-festivals. Members were advised that these projects would fit the criteria for community engagement and, whilst officers required review to ascertain if schools themselves could apply to the fund, representatives of schools could apply for school-based projects. Members noted that in previous grant cycles a school-based project led by students in Melbourn had been funded. A further question was raised on how local groups with environmental interests, such as river ecology groups which were prevalent in the district, could apply to the grant scheme given that the link between habitat/ecosystem enhancements and carbon reductions were hard to calculate. Officers advised that these sorts of groups could look to create community engagement projects that would enhance the work they were already undertaking and applications to the grant fund for these projects could be made.
Members commented that the clarifications to the guidance were sensible, useful and would help prospective applicants produce high quality applications- the Committee supported the proposed amendments to the criteria.
The Committee noted the report.