Community Energy Resilience Grant Scheme Applicants Guide

The Scheme is being operated by Erewash Borough Council and is funded from the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

1. Introduction

1.1 This document is designed to assist applicants to apply for the Community Energy Resilience Grant Scheme. Copies of the guidance and registration form are available on Erewash Borough Council’s website.

Aim

1.2 The aim of the Grant is to support community & voluntary organisations within Erewash and is one of a number of initiatives that form a wider regeneration programme for the borough funded through the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund. The scheme will provide grants from £10,000 to £25,000 to eligible applicants.

Who can apply for a Grant?

1.3 The Grant is open to voluntary and community groups/organisations in Erewash who own or long-term lease the building they operate from. The building must be the main location that the organisation/group delivers their services or activities from.

1.4 Eligible applicants can apply for a grant of between £10,000 and £25,000 to be spent on the installation of energy efficient technologies (listed in 1.5).

1.5 Energy saving measures must be physical and installed by a professional. They could include: solar panels; air source heat pumps; ground source heat pumps; roof and wall insulation. Measures should reduce energy costs for the group/organisation and enhance financial resilience.

2. How you apply for a Grant

For the purposes of this section “you” means “The Applicant” and “us or we” means Erewash Borough Council.

2.1 You can download an Application Form from the Council website or request one from the Economic Development (ED) Team.

2.2 You will need to have a bank account in the organisation name into which we can pay the Grant by bank transfer, following approval.

2.3 You will submit completed forms and supporting documents to us by email or post addressed to the Economic Development team.

3. How we will assess your application

3.1 All grants will be made at the sole discretion of Erewash Borough Council. All grants will be subject to availability of sufficient funding. Erewash Borough Council will not be committed until the formal acceptance of the offer of the grant by the applicant. The Council will consider Applications on a first come, first served basis. The scheme will operate subject to sufficient funds.

3.2 You need to give details of any grant funding your organisation has received over the past 3 years. This is required due to subsidy control rules that govern how much public money a business can receive over a given time.

• You will need to provide quotes and a description of the works proposed.

• You will need to provide a copy of the lease or deeds for the building in question.

 

4. How you will be informed of the grant decision

4.1 We will notify you of our decision via letter. A conditional offer or rejection letter may ask you to submit further documentation and information to the Council in order for the application to be processed.

4.2 The Grant will be conditional on the submission and approval of this information. A formal offer of Grant will then be made.

4.3 The Grant monies will be paid to successful applicants once background checks are carried out, and any necessary consents are in place.

4.4 You must inform Erewash Borough Council upon completion of the works which should be carried out prior to 31^st March 2025.

4.5 Applicants must hold the appropriate Buildings Insurance.

4.6 Grants are discretionary, and Erewash Borough Council reserves the right to withhold payment of the grant in whole or part if any of the terms and conditions has been breached.

4.7 Payment will be subject to you having satisfactorily complied with all terms and conditions of the scheme.

4.8 Payment of the grant will be made into your organisation bank account via BACS.

4.9 If the costs of the proposed project exceed the maximum grant awarded, Erewash Borough Council is not obliged to increase the grant amount. You may, however, choose to spend more than the Grant on the overall scheme with your own funds.

4.10 You will agree for Erewash Borough Council to involve you in publicity, e.g., press releases, case studies and photographs and reports related to the Grant.

4.11 You will agree to take part in any monitoring and produce relevant information as requested.

4.12 You will agree to use the Grant only for the works specified in the grant offer letter.

4.13 If you are VAT registered your grant will be assessed on the net cost of eligible projects; if you are non-registered it will be on the gross cost. If you do not know whether you are VAT registered, you must seek advice from HM Revenue & Customs.

4.14 Erewash Borough Council, its officers and agents shall not at any time be held liable to any person in relation to any loss or damage arising, either directly or indirectly, as a result of compliance by you with these terms and conditions of grant. Award of the grant does not imply that Erewash Borough Council is expressing a view regarding your business or its products/services nor that it accepts responsibility for any debts, or liabilities incurred by you or your business.

4.15 Erewash Borough Council reserves the right to recover all or part of the grant it has provided if:

• You are found to have improperly tried to influence the decision of any officer or Elected Member of Erewash Borough Council in the award of a grant;
• Any information provided in the forms or other correspondence is found to be substantially incorrect, misleading or incomplete;
• You fail to comply with any of the terms and conditions of this scheme.

4.16 We will check whether you have any outstanding debts owed to Erewash Borough Council. If it is found that such debts exist, Erewash Borough Council reserves the right to withhold grant payment until such debts are cleared.

4.17 We will share data with the Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) of the UK Government who have provided the funding for the scheme. Data supplied in the Application Form will be held on the shared database in accordance with Data Protection legislation.

4.18 We sometimes need to share your information within the Council or with other organisations. We will only share your information when necessary and when the law allows us to. For processing and administering your grant application and payment we may need to share your information with:

- In certain cases we may also share your information with other individuals and organisations for the purpose of the prevention and detection of fraud.

 Our full privacy notice is available at www.erewash.gov.uk/privacy