The Department of Communities and Local Government is inviting local community groups in deprived urban areas across England (excluding London) to apply for one-time funding to create a pocket park.
The Pocket Parks Programme has been established with £1.5 million in funding from the Department of Communities and Local Government with the objective of delivering up to 100 pocket parks across deprived urban areas (excluding London) in England.
Pocket parks are defined for this programme as a piece of land of up to 0.4 hectares (although many are around 0.02 hectares, the size of a tennis court) which may already be under grass but which is unused, undeveloped or derelict.
Grants of between £10,000 and £15,000 per project (up to £10,000 capital and up to £5,000 revenue) are available to create a pocket park in an urban area of deprivation in England. It can be a new site or an existing site, and all or part of a site, and it needs to be accessible and available for the community who wish to use it and ideally openly accessible to all.
Applications are particularly sought from urban areas where there are significantly deprived wards according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation rankings (2015) and these will be prioritised in the assessment.
Grants will be paid to the appropriate principal local authority that is supporting the application (under section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003) so that it can be released to the community as they need it to deliver.
Communities will be supported to develop new green spaces (or improve existing ones that are in poor condition) that provide people with better quality spaces; increasing opportunities for getting together, healthy living, relaxation, play, food growing and contact with nature.
Communities may be looking at projects where there is a desire, with support, to take full or partial control of green spaces of value and importance to them. Partial control reflects that a pocket park may be a part of a larger site developed with the landowner’s permission. This can include social housing areas and towns and city centres where communities can demonstrate a pocket park is needed and that they are willing to manage it.
Ownership of the site of a pocket park may rest with the community, the local authority or other public sector body, or a private sector body or trust including a housing association.
All applications will need to provide evidence of agreement from the landowner to the works outlined in the application. All applications must also be supported by the relevant local authority, which must be willing to hold the grant and pass it on to the community.
For further information and to apply, visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pocket-parks-support-for-communities-to-manage-small-green-spaces, or email: [email protected]
Deadline: Thursday 10 December 2015, 17:00