We can make a massive difference for nature” £10m Sizewell C environment fund launched
A £10 million fund has been launched as part of Sizewell C’s commitment to help restore and protect Suffolk’s landscapes
A new £10 million fund has been launched to help restore and protect Suffolk’s landscapes as part of Sizewell C’s commitment to supporting nature during the construction of the new nuclear power station near Leiston.
The Natural Environment Improvement Fund (NEIF) will back community-led projects that enhance biodiversity and the landscape, including restoring ancient hedgerows, planting new woodland and copses, rejuvenating heathlands, and creating wetlands and reedbeds.
Steve Mannings, who heads up nature conservation and landscape restoration at Sizewell C, and is who is also on the panel that picks the projects, said the fund was a “fantastic initiative to support others doing great things.”
“It’s one of the key elements of our nature strategy,” he said.
“It’s designed to support community-led initiatives and projects to do things like restoring ancient hedgerows and deciduous woodland, planting new hedges, copses and woodlands, and better managing and expanding the wonderful heathlands that we’ve got in East Suffolk.
“It’s going to be a fantastic grant-based initiative to support others doing those great things.”
More about the scheme and grant
The scheme is open to community groups, landowners, parish and town councils, and environmental organisations.
“This fund is only going to be as successful as if local people, community NGOs, landowners, parish and town councils really engage with us to access this funding, and we’d really, really encourage them to do so,” Mr Mannings added.
“This fund is going to be available for more than ten years, and we are standing ready to work with those applicants to spend it wisely, to support their ideas, which can collectively make a massive difference for nature and for the benefit of local communities.
“We’ve set up a website and we’d ask that folks have a click and get involved.”
We asked Manning how the £10million funding would be allocated, and how that works across the 10 years this fund will be running.
He said, "It's all index-linked, so it's £10 million actually based on 2022 money, I think...
"In terms of the allocation regarding the size of grants and things, we as a panel don't have a fixed kind of view on that. So we're looking to support great applications, either one-off applications or applications that might continue to have a funding requirement over a number of years.
"We're encouraging applicants to look at sort of match funding, we're just keen to start working with applicants to support those sorts of initiatives."
How to get the grant
An awards panel will oversee the NEIF, featuring representatives from East Suffolk Council, Suffolk County Council, Sizewell C, Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape, and Natural England.
Grants will be awarded throughout Sizewell C’s construction and the first three years of its operation.
Cllr Tom Daly, East Suffolk Council’s Cabinet Member for Energy and Climate Change and a member of the NEIF panel, said:
“Along with other mitigations and landscape commitments, it is a welcome acknowledgement that this huge development must be done with the future of our countryside very much in the foreground.”
Applications will be accepted all year round via a dedicated online portal.