Mendip Hills Sustainable Development Fund 2005-2014 SDF Panel members The Sustainable Development Fund would not have been able to function without those who have given their time to assessing the applications received. It is with thanks to the following who have given considerable voluntary time to reading through documents, attending meetings and undertaking site visits to see projects: Cllr Harvey Siggs, Somerset County Councillor 2005-2009 James Small, local farmer and NFU rep 2005-2009 Bob Handford, Bristol Water, 2005-2008 Simon Whitmore, Mendip Society 2005-2008 Nicola Epps, Arts Officer Mendip District Council 2005-2011 Tony Shepherd, Mendip Community Transport 2007- 2009 Ian Chedgy, local resident and aboriculturalist 2007 -2010 Dr Simon Gardner, local resident and Environment Agency 2007- 2014 Rachael Clarke, local resident and Priddy Folk Fair 2007 – 2014 Sheila Petherbridge, Rights of Way Officer 2009-2011 Chris Head, West of England Rural Network 2009-2012 Martin Grass, local resident and businessman 2009-2014 John Coote, local resident and Hutton PC – 2010-2014 Sue Isherwood, local resident and consultant in arts and cultural services 2012-2014 Andy Mayled, National Trust 2012-2014 Sara Parsons, local resident and community arts 2012 – 2014 Liz Brimmell, local resident and Hinton Blewett PC 2013-2014 Sarah Jackson Mendip Hills AONB Manager February 2014 1 Mendip Hills AONB Sustainable Development Fund - Summary 2005-2014 Year Total SDF Admin cost No of grants Value of Total value of awarded SDF grants projects 05/06 £100,000 £275 10 £99725 £237045 06/07 £80,000 £1828 13 £78172 £547835 07/08 £70,000 £6361.02 10 £63638.98 £763606 08/09 £61,666 £4914.50 16 £56751.50 £180137.50 09/10 £65,000 £832 17 £64168 £100773.61 10/11 £55,000 £968 13 £54032 £109915 11/12 £37000 £517.51 7 £36482.49 £58280.49 12/13 £37000 0 13 £37000 £69475.36 13/14 £20,000 0 10 £20000 £92730 Total £525,666 £15,696.03 109 £509,969.97 £2,179,797.96 The Sustainable Development Fund started in 2005/2006 with a contribution of £100,000 from Natural England to each AONB in England to have a Sustainable Development Fund. The SDF was to aid the achievement of AONB purposes and delivery of the AONB Management Plan by encouraging individuals, community groups and businesses to co-operate together to develop practical and sustainable solutions to the management of their activities. Natural England provided guidance on criteria for the SDF that each AONB adapted and decided how it was to administer its SDF. Each AONB was entitled to claim up to 10% of the Fund for administration costs. The Mendip Hills AONB kept administration costs to a minimum by managing the Fund by existing AONB staff (AONB Manager /Development Officer) taking on the admin role rather than appointing an administrator as some other AONBs did. The Mendip Hills AONB only claimed any unspent funds as admin costs in order to claim the total allocated funds, thus the reason why figures vary so much over the nine years and in some cases no administrative costs were claimed. 2 Up to and including 08/09 Natural England awarded the SDF grant as a separate allocation to each AONB. After 08/09 AONBs received single pot funding that allowed each AONB to determine how much they allocated. Due to reduced funding to AONBs from NE/Defra and local authorities the amount available for the SDF has reduced. The AONB Partnership /AONB Unit has been seeking alternative sources of funding for projects and has successfully secured funding for a number of projects that it is directly involved with but also wants to continue to support projects that the SDF has helped over the years. As the SDF would have been less than £10,000 in 2014/15 it was decided to end the SDF and channel resources into the new Mendip Hills Fund. In January 2014 the Mendip Hills Fund was established with Somerset Community Foundation. This Fund has similar criteria to the SDF but covers the whole of the Mendip Hills including the AONB. It will take time to attract income into this new Fund but it is hoped that in its first year it will be able to award a few small grants to ensure projects continue to happen and raises the profile of the Fund. For further information see: www.somersetcf.org.uk The following tables show a year by year summary of the Sustainable Development Fund grants awarded: 3 Sustainable Development Fund grants awarded 2005/6 Project Grant Lead body Field Boundaries final survey and analysis of all data collected for parishes in B&NES part of AONB £3000 (50%) B&NES, BRERC with management recommendations Farmlink – development of the farm conservation/food awareness project bringing children from £8000 (40%) Farmlink urban areas into the countryside Strawberry Line a) Millenium Green access link to Strawberry line £15,000 (50%) North Somerset Council b) Solar lighting in Shute Shelve tunnel £20,000 (50%) Chancellors Farm – development of sustainable building to host educational visits based on £17,000 (50%) Somerset Wildlife Trust Farmlink principles Beacon Batch – restoration of trig point, part of this Scheduled Monument at highest point on £1500 (50%) AONB Service Mendip Mendip Cross Trails project – to provide a strategic network of countryside recreational routes within £4500 (75%) Mendip Cross Trails Trust the AONB – Phase one identifying routes AONB Boundary Markers – installation of the markers at key entrances to the AONB £14725 (47%) AONB Service North Somerset Community Project – Pilot outreach work in urban areas (particularly Weston S £7000 (61%) National Trust Mare) surrounding AONB to develop networks to improve disadvantaged groups experiences and access to sites in the AONB Development of Farm Radio an internet radio station for farms, farm workers and others interested £9000 (16.3%) Trilith in farming and rural matters in the AONB, and preservation of archive cine film of rural life in the AONB. Total grants awarded 99725 (237,045) AONB Admin costs 275 Total 100,000 4 Sustainable Development Fund grants awarded 2006/7 Project title Applicant Grant % of total Project costs Rickford under grounding cables Rickford 25000 31.64% Under grounding of overhead cables Community Association Mendip Cross Trails Project MCCT 6300 67% Phase 2 strategic network Active Mendip web site Active Mendip 500 50% Web site to promote local outdoor activity businesses SW Wood fuel initiative Forestry 10000 2.8% Regional initiative to promote wood fuel and use of Commission wood fuel boilers Farm Plastic recycling pilot FWAG 3270 75% Pilot stage to move towards commercial operation North Somerset Community National Trust 6250 12.9% Outreach work following on from feasibility study Involvement Young Mendip web site Somerset Rural 9960 48% Web site developed with young people Youth project Trilith Trilith 5390 69.15% Cine film archive work Bracken Down cutter Bracken Down 1500 50% Purchase of bracken cutter Limited Light pollution reduction TileStyle and one 292 50% 2 payments; one business and one residential resident Black Rock Bat and Dormouse Somerset Wildlife 3260 67.25% Coppicing, fencing, new gates and leaflet project Trust 5 Mendip TV Mendip Times 4200 31% Internet TV for Mendips Cheddar to Wells multi user path Cheddar Valley 2250 100% Topographical assessment for proposed route Walk Society Sub total 78172 (£547,835) AONB Admin costs 1828 Total 80000 Sustainable Development Fund grants awarded 2007/8 Project title Applicant Grant % of total Outline (Management Plan theme) costs St Lawrence school 250 50% new lighting to reduce light pollution from existing Light pollution grants -Westbury lighting (Community, Settlement & Charterhouse 126.48 Development) Centre Fernhill Farm 1175 40% Two grants –1. Hydro-geological report for reed bed and Fernhill Farm – Reedbed system 16000 2. installation of system (Agriculture) Mendip Cross 11700 8 % Routes at Shipham Hill, Westbury Beacon and Westbury High Down Way Trails Trust Quarry (Recreation, Access and Tourism) Strawberry Line- Cheddar to Wells Cheddar valley 1721.25 75% To provide species and habitat information that will multi user path ecological survey Railway Walk support multi user path planning application (Receation, Access and Tourism) Society 6 Centre for 10,000 2 % Regional initiative to promote wood fuel boilers, SW Woodfuel initiative Sustainable Energy woodland management and training including AONB (Trees, Woodland and Forestry) case studies Mendip Hills Community Owls Hawk and Owl 2516.25 75% Surveying and monitoring, artificial nest sites, advice to project Trust landowners (Biodiversity) North Somerset 14150 50% Improvement to 2kms of bridleway to access Strawberry Strawberry Line - Mendip Links Council Line near Winscombe (Recreation, Access and Tourism) Active Mendip - access to outdoor Mendip Hills AONB 3000 9% Sustainable recreation plans, database, mobile cave and recreation project officer (Recreation, Access and Tourism) Adrian Boots 2000 50% Feasibility for series of wild food walks Mendip Hills Wild Food Map (Biodiversity) Rodney Stoke PC 1000 42% Landscaping of the Pound and providing improved The Pound Rodney Stoke access (Heritage) Total grants awarded 63638.98 (£763,606) AONB Admin costs 6361.02 Total 70000 7 Sustainable Development Fund grants awarded 2008/9 Project title Applicant Grant % of total Outline (Management Plan theme) costs Living Landscapes Avon Wildlife Trust 8483 8% Restoring Avon’s wildflower rich grasslands. (BIODIVERSITY) Barton Camp Nature Trail Bristol Childrens 1000 100% Provision of expert advice to create nature trail with (BIODIVERSITY) Help Society teaching aids International Dormice conference The Mammal 2000 7.7% 7th International Dormouse Conference- Shipham (BIODIVERSITY) society 26th Sept- 30th Sept East Harptree Village Shop E.H Village Shop 10000 16.6 % To set up sustainable enterprise owned and run (COMM,SETTLEMENT&DEV) Project community shop in redundant building. Chew Valley Charcoal Chew Valley 300 50% Printing of bags for charcoal (TREES,WOODLAND&FORESTRY) Charcoal Black Down erosion monitoring Mendip Hills AONB 1560 23% Identify and monitor soil erosion on Black Down with (RECREATION,ACCESS,TOURISM) Service view to implementing appropriate management.