HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund

(£10,000 - £75,000)

Application Help Notes November 2019: Version 3

Introduction

These help notes are for the HS2 Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF) for

applications between £10,000 and £75,000.

Before you start to complete your application form or use these notes, please

ensure that you have read our guidance document and FAQs HERE.

How to use these Application Help Notes

These help notes are for the BLEF application form for projects applying for between

£10,000 and £75,000.

The aim of these notes is to help you complete your application form online. We’ll

explain how to start using our online system as well as providing you with a guide to the

information you must give us about your project. We’ll also tell you why we’re asking for

certain information and how we use the information you give us.

If you have any further queries, please contact Groundwork UK on 0121 237 5880.

Applying for funding

Once you have submitted your application and we are happy that it is complete, it will

be assessed. Applications for £75,000 and under should be assessed and notified of a

decision within around 8 weeks of a complete online application being submitted. For an

overview of the full application process please click here.

Alternative and Accessible Formats

Sometimes there are particular reasons why people find it difficult to apply for funding or

access our services. If you experience or anticipate any barriers with our application

process, require help to make an application, or accessing our services and information,

please contact Groundwork to discuss the type of support we can provide. You can find

our contact details here Contact Us

Receiving correspondence from us

To ensure you successfully receive email communications regarding your application,

please save this email address - mail@grantapplication.com - to your contacts or safe

list. This will prevent emails being filtered into your junk or clutter folders, where they

can easily be overlooked.

Applying Online

When you’re working on your application online it’s useful to remember:

● You can fill in your application in one go, or work on it at different times

● You can fill in the sections of the form in whichever order you prefer, but you will

only be able to submit your application when all of the sections are complete

● If you have your application form open on your computer, but do not work on it

for 2 hours, you will automatically be logged out of our online system. Any work

that you haven’t saved by then will be lost.

● The online application form is best accessed using Windows and cannot be

accessed using an Apple Mac or iPad. Likewise it works best using Internet

Explorer and will not work when using Google Chrome. If this causes you any

issues, please call 0121 237 5880 and a member of the team will be happy to

help you.

● If you forget your password or any other part of your login details, please follow

the link on GIFTS which will allow you to reset this information.

Getting Started Checklist

Make sure you have read our guidance document and FAQs HERE before starting your

application form.

Have you got everything you need to complete your application form?

● Your organisation’s contact details and information

● Your organisation’s governing document e.g. Constitution, Memorandum and

Articles of Association

● Your written project proposal, including evidence of demand for your project

● Your project location and postcode

● Your Project Budget

● Evidence of security of tenure for your project site (freehold or leasehold

document)

Section 1: About Your Organisation

In this section we’re asking you to tell us some basic information about your

organisation.

1. What is the name of your organisation? We need to know the name of your group, this should be the name of the organisation that is applying for funding and match with the information on your bank statements and governing documents i.e. constitution, Memorandum and Articles of Association etc. 2. How long has your organisation been in existence? Please tell us how long your organisation has been in existence, selecting an option from the drop down menu. 3. What is the nature of your organisation? For monitoring purposes, please tell us what type your organisation is.

4. If you are a charity, what is your Charity Registration Number?

If your group is a registered charity, please give your charity number as it appears on your governing document.

5. If you are a company, what is your Company Registration Number? If your group is a Limited Company, please give your company registration number as it appears on your governing document.

6. Does your organisation have public liability insurance?

Public liability insurance covers any award of damages given to a member of the public

because of an injury or damage to their property when visiting your project site. It also

covers any related legal fees, costs and expenses.

If you own or hold a formal lease on the site of your proposed project we require you to

hold public liability insurance cover for the site. If another body owns or leases the site

(and you are delivering your project with their permission) we expect them to maintain

public liability insurance cover for the site.

7. Upload your Governance Document

Please upload a copy of your group's governance document. This could be a

Constitution, Code of Conduct, Memorandum and Articles of Association etc.

The following groups are NOT required to submit a governance document:

1. Local Authorities (county councils, metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities,

district council and the London boroughs)

2. Local Education Authority OR other public sector bodies (parish and town councils)

3. Institutes of Further or Higher Education

Further information can be found in section 22 of the BLEF guidance document.

8. Annual account information

Please provide information from your most recent set of accounts and upload a copy of

these if required to do so.

The following groups are NOT required to submit annual accounts:

1. Local Authorities (county councils, metropolitan district councils, unitary authorities,

district council and the London boroughs)

2. Local Education Authority OR other public sector bodies (parish and town councils)

3. Institutes of Further or Higher Education

Further information can be found in section 22 of the BLEF guidance document.

9. Number of people on your Governing Body/Committee/Management Board

In this section we need to know how many people are on your Governing Body. Please note our requirement for a minimum number of three people who are unrelated in order that your organisation is eligible to apply.

10. How many volunteers

Please give us an idea of how many volunteers are involved in the running of your organisation.

11. Number of paid staff

Please give us an idea of how many paid staff are involved in the running of your organisation.

12. Who is the main contact for your group? This should be a key person involved in your project. They should be able to talk about your project and provide further information if required. It is very important to us that you provide the correct email address and daytime phone number so that we can communicate updates and decisions on your application.

Please let us know if the main contact has any particular communication needs. We

intend to use email as our main means of communication for environmental reasons. If

this will cause problems for you please ensure you let us know your preferred

alternative. Groundwork UK is an environmental charity and we aim to save paper

wherever possible, so it is very important that your email addresses are correct and the

email account is active and checked regularly.

If your application is successful, the grant offer will be emailed to the main contact. They will be responsible for sending us an update once the project has ended. If your contacts change throughout the lifetime of the project it is your responsibility to confirm any changes, we will not be able to discuss the application with anyone who is not a named contact on the application form. 13. Who is the secondary contact for this application? We ask for an alternative contact so that if we are unable to get in touch with the main contact, there is a second person we can contact who represents the group. This contact should be a senior contact for your organisation (for example, Director, CEO, Treasurer, Company Secretary). Please let us know if your alternative contact has any particular communication needs. 14. How many kilometres from the nearest point of the HS2 route is the organisation based? Please select an option. You may find the interactive map of the planned construction helpful. 15: Has your organisation had any previous communication/engagement with HS2 Ltd or the Department for Transport in relation to the High Speed Two project? If yes please provide details. The response to this question will not be taken into account during assessment but is useful for us to understand if you have had any contact or communication with DfT or HS2 Ltd to date.

Section 2: About Your Project

In this section we’re looking for:

● Which region your proposed project will take place in ● A clear and persuasive description of a well-researched project ● Why the project is needed by local businesses? ● How you have planned your activity to be successful? ● How you demonstrate the level of disruption from construction of Phase 1 of HS2

on the community ● How the project will be sustainable or leave a sustainable legacy ● How your project fits with programme outcomes.

16. What is the title of your project?

At this stage a project name is essential. If you use any abbreviations tell us what they

stand for.

17. Project description

You have up to 500 words to give us an overview of what your project will deliver. As

well as background information on your project, please be as specific as possible in

terms of the activities your project will deliver. The project description should be clear

and concise and contain relevant information to give a good understanding of your

project and what you hope to achieve. A good project description will include:

- an overview of the project

- what the funding will be spent on

- a description of the physical features or improvements that will be installed or

activity sessions that will be delivered

- information about how the project will be delivered and who will carry out the work

- an outline of the project timescales

18. Partnership working

Please give details of any other organisations that you are working with on project

delivery, explain how they are involved in developing your project now and how they will

be involved in project delivery if you are successful. If any of your partner organisations

are providing match funding either cash or in-kind, please detail it here.

19: Region where your project will be delivered?

Please choose one of the three regions where your project will take place - Greater

London, West Midlands (Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry) or Central (Staffordshire,

Warwickshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire and Hertfordshire).

20. Project location address

Please provide the full address (inc postcode) of the main site(s) or venue(s) where

your proposed project will take place.

21. Multiple sites/ venues

If your proposed project takes place across a number of sites or venues, please provide

the full address(es) and postcode(s) for the additional sites.

22. How many kilometres from the nearest point of the HS2 route or off route

related work sites, will the project be taking place?

Please select one of the options from the drop down menu. If your project takes place

across a large site or multiple sites or venues, you should use the point of the project

site closest to the HS2 Phase 1 route. You may find the interactive map of the planned

construction helpful.

Priority will be given to projects that are based within 1km (0.62 miles) of the high speed

rail line.

Key project information: The following four questions have been designed to

capture the key information about your project. The answers will form an

essential part of the assessment process.

23. Need - Why is the project needed by the local business community? How are local

businesses disrupted by the construction of HS2? How have local businesses been

involved in the project’s development e.g. through community consultation? What

support does the project have from the local community, other businesses and where

appropriate other bodies (for example the local authority, chamber of commerce, LEP

etc)?

Tips on how to carry out community consultation can be found here.

24. Planning - How you have planned your project to be successful? The level of

detail you need to provide will vary depending on the complexity of the proposed

project. We want to gain a full picture of what will happen and have assurance that

everything has been planned thoroughly. Examples of things to consider for a revenue

project include, what promotional activity is being proposed, how many events are going

to take place (and where/when) and who is involved in the development and

management of the project? For a capital project, examples include - who will oversee

the project, how long it will take, is planning permission required/in place? How will the

risks be managed? How will you monitor the project and evaluate its success?

Tips on how to plan a successful project can be found here.

25. Disruption - The application needs to demonstrate how the project addresses the

level of disruption from construction of Phase 1 of HS2? How will local economic activity

be maintained or enhanced through the project? What are the proposed

outputs/outcomes of your project?

26. Sustainability/ Legacy - How will the project be sustainable? If a capital project,

will sufficient revenue be generated to keep the facility running and well-maintained for

years to come (e.g. setting up a long term replacement fund) and who will be

responsible for its long term operation and maintenance? If it is a revenue project, how

will the local economy perform once it has finished.

Tips on how to ensure your project is sustainable can be found here.

27. Project Start and End Dates

Please give us an indication of estimated dates of when your project might start and

finish or whether your project has already started. Please note work should be able to

start within 6 months of an award being received.

28. Have You Started Work Yet?

Other than essential project development work, costs and/or fees, has your organisation

begun work, or made any binding commitments to begin work, in respect of your

project? If you have, please tell us about the aspects of the project to which you are

committed. Please be aware that HS2 Ltd cannot fund any activity that has already

started.

29. Opportunity

Does your organisation restrict access/membership on the grounds of race, creed,

colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, disability, occupation, religion or political

persuasion? If yes to any of the above, please tell us the reasons for restricting

access/membership.

Ownership of Land/ Facility/ Site - ***Capital Projects Only***

You only need to complete this question if you are applying for capital funding. Please go to Q36 if your project does not include any capital elements. Capital funding covers capital infrastructure costs, including refurbishment of existing

facilities, the installation of fixed equipment, new buildings and structures, enhanced

access schemes and landscaping. Further information about capital funding can be

found in section 8 of the BLEF guidance document.

30. What security of tenure do you currently hold over the project site?

Further information about security of tenure can be found in section 9 of the BLEF

guidance document and sections 7 and 8 of the BLEF FAQs.

To be eligible to apply for capital funding of £10,000 or over, your organisation must

either own the freehold interest or have a sufficient leasehold interest in the land

involved in your project.

Please upload a copy of your leasehold or freehold document using the link provided.

31. If you hold a leasehold how many years remain?

Please detail how many years remain on your lease. For applications between £10,000

and £75,000 there must be at least five years remaining.

32. If you do not currently have adequate security of tenure for the amount of

funding requested, will you do so by the time the project starts?

If you are in the process of confirming security of tenure for the project site, please

provide us with more details, including timescales, here.

33. HS2 may require a legal charge irrespective of the value of any award. Do

you agree to this?

A legal charge may be asked for to provide assurance to the funder.

34. Upload your freehold/ leasehold document

Please upload a copy of your freehold or leasehold document.

35. Permissions

Do you have the necessary permissions in place to deliver the project? Some important

permissions to consider include:

- Planning permission: Will your project require planning permission to go ahead.

You can find this out by contacting your local planning authority for an informal

opinion. To find your local planning authority, visit www.planningportal.gov.uk

and enter the postcode of your project site.

- When developing a capital project you will need to comply with any statutory

legislation that relates to your proposals. These may include Tree Preservation

Orders (TPO’s), permissions related to protected species and their habitats,

conservation area consent or listed building consent.

Please tell us which permissions are not in place yet. Additionally, please also tell us

what permissions you have secured.

36. Outcomes

We would like to know about the changes that happen because of our funding. We call these changes ‘outcomes’.

The Business and Local Economy Fund’s primary outcome is:

● To provide benefits to businesses disrupted by the construction of Phase 1 of HS2

Please confirm that your project will meet this outcome.

37. Secondary Outcomes

We now want to know about the more specific changes your project will make that contribute to making the primary outcomes possible. Please tick all of the secondary outcomes that apply to your project.

● Enhanced public realm

● To maintain levels of employment in those areas supported by the Fund

● To maintain overall levels of business activity in those areas supported by the

Fund

38. How will your project contribute to the outcomes that you have selected

above?

Please explain how your project will contribute to achieving the Primary and Secondary

outcomes you have selected. Please tell us how your project is going to make these

changes and what you will be doing to ensure your project achieves these outcomes.

PROJECT OUTPUTS

39. How many businesses will benefit from the completed project? 40. How many people will benefit from the completed project? 41. How have you arrived at the figures in questions 39 and 40? We would like you to make an estimate as to how many businesses and people will directly benefit from your project. You need to think about who the likely beneficiaries are and how many of them are likely to use or visit your project. If they will benefit more than once then please provide more information in question 41. It might be helpful to include details of the number of businesses and employees who are likely to benefit as well as the present users of the site including visitors and customers. For example if you are planning to develop a scheme to improve the local public realm you could detail the number of businesses and employees as well as the number of visitors and customers who may benefit from the improved environment. 42. How many new volunteer places will be created? Will there be volunteering opportunities through the delivery of your project and if so, please estimate how many new volunteer places will be created. 43. How many new education and training opportunities will be created? Will there be new education and training opportunities created through the delivery of your project and if so, please estimate how many.

44. How many new jobs will be created and/or maintained? Will there be jobs created or maintained through the delivery of your project and if so, please estimate how many.

Section 3: Budget

Tips to help you with project budgeting can be found here. 45. What is the total cost of your project? This figure should include the total cost of your project. This should include any match funding secured from other sources. 46. What is the total amount requested from this fund towards your project.

Please note that the minimum amount of funding you can request using this application

form is £10,000 and the maximum amount is £75,000. If you are looking for funding

above £75,000 from the Business and Local Economy Fund please re-complete the

eligibility quiz on the website to access the relevant application form.

47. Please provide a full breakdown of the CAPITAL costs associated with your project? Capital funding covers capital infrastructure costs, including refurbishment of existing

facilities, the installation of fixed equipment, new buildings and structures, enhanced

access schemes and landscaping. Further information about capital funding can be

found in section 8 of the BLEF guidance document.

Please provide a budget breakdown for the capital elements of your project. Please

ensure that your costs are realistic and well researched. They should be based on

quotes or cost estimates received from reputable contractors or suppliers.

Description Amount Requested Total Item Cost

Item requested Amount requested from BLEF towards item

Total cost of item (including any match funding)

In this section you should enter a total rounded up to the nearest pound and should not enter a decimal place, a £ sign or use any punctuation marks.

For example:

You SHOULD enter 1000 or 5000 or 7500

You SHOULD NOT enter £1000 or £5,000 or 7,499.99 etc

48. Please provide a full breakdown of the REVENUE costs associated with your project?

Revenue funding can be used to cover running costs, staffing and project delivery costs

that relate directly to the project. Further information about revenue funding can be

found in section 11 of the BLEF guidance document.

Please provide a budget breakdown for the revenue elements of your project. Please

ensure that your costs are realistic and well researched.

Description Amount Requested Total Item Cost

Item requested Amount requested from BLEF towards item

Total cost of item (including any match funding)

In this section you should enter a total rounded up to the nearest pound and should not enter a decimal place, a £ sign or use any punctuation marks.

For example:

You SHOULD enter - 1000 or 5000 or 7500

You SHOULD NOT enter - £1100 or £5,000 or 7,499.99 etc.

49-50. Is your organisation able to reclaim VAT?

Please select one of the drop down options. If you select yes, please also answer

Q50a&b. If you select no, please answer 50c.

A Note about VAT

If your group is registered for VAT, your expenditure figures shouldn’t include VAT that you can claim back (often called recoverable VAT). If you’re not registered for VAT your costs should include VAT. Any VAT that you expect to incur but can’t claim back (irrecoverable VAT) should be in your expenditure breakdown. Information about VAT is available on the HMRC website

Q51 – Q53: Other sources of funding

Match contributions are not a requirement for applications to BLEF, although we do

encourage applicants to include match contributions where possible. In some

circumstances, projects that have match funding will be prioritised.

Potential sources of match funding contributions include both cash and non-cash (also

known as In Kind)

For more information about match funding contributions, please see sections 17 and 18

of the BLEF guidance document.

51. Please detail any other cash funding for your project? Please tell us here whether you have any other cash funding to contribute to your project, how much in total, where it is from and whether or not this has been secured. 52. Do you have any non-cash or in-kind funding for your project? Please tell us here whether you have any non-cash or in-kind funding for your project. Please detail the source of this funding, whether it is secured and calculate the equivalent amount. The equivalent amount is the value of the in-kind contributions. This could be the value of any land or property donated, donations of materials or volunteer time. In the interest of equality, all volunteer time should be valued at the national living wage (currently up to £7.20 per hour dependent on age as of November 2016). 53. Have you applied for or been awarded any financial/in-kind support for your project, or any other project, from any of the following funds? Other funds linked to Phase 1 of HS2 are available. In this question, we want to know whether you have explored, applied for or been awarded any financial or in-kind support for your project or any other project from any of these sources. Please tick any that apply and provide further details in the box below. Please note that double funding i.e. the same project funded twice by the same public funding source is not allowed.

Section 4: Declarations

In this section of the application form we’re asking you to read some important

information about our commitment and responsibilities around Freedom of Information,

Data Protection and Counter Fraud. It’s important that you understand how the

information you submit will be used and stored by us. You need to know what to do if

you believe that any of your information is commercially sensitive or confidential.

We’re then asking you to confirm a number of statements and by ticking the box you are

agreeing to the statements and confirming the information you have provided is correct

and you are signing the application form electronically on behalf of your organisation.

Good luck with your application!