Cooke & Arkwright acts as Managing Agents for The Crown Estate Commissioners Marine Estate in Wales. The Marine Estate is unique, with ownership of the seabed around the UK out to the 12 mile territorial limit, and 65% of the Welsh foreshore. This means that The Crown Estate works closely with a range of marine-based industries such as ports, harbours, marinas and offshore renewables and has a strong understanding of the needs of these industries and the balance between them and the interests of other sea users, such as leisure and conservation groups.
In South and West Wales the property interests are managed directly by Cooke & Arkwright whilst in North Wales the day-to-day management is undertaken by our Managing Sub Agent, Jones Peckover.
The Crown Estate’s Marine Communities Fund and a new supplementary fund for smaller projects that has been introduced this year in response to customer feedback. The main Communities Fund was established in 1999 and supports initiatives that contribute to the good management and stewardship of the Marine Estate and is concerned with larger scale projects, for example a new visitors centre at the RSPB Cymru Conwy Bird Reserve (Grant £20,000), funding of an information officer at Newport Wetlands, and establishment of boat booths and kiosks at six launch sites along the Ceredigion coastline. The new smaller supplementary fund is intended to assist smaller, community based projects and will be administered by its Managing Agents (Cooke & Arkwright in Wales).
Under the terms of The Crown Estate Act 1961, funding is only available for projects that can demonstrate a clear link to Crown Estate property, either by furthering good management or enhancing stewardship of Crown Estate foreshore and seabed. Examples of what funds can and cannot be used for are:
Funds can be spent on:
- Seminars (such as wildfowling, coastal partnerships)
- Production of local guides (such as sailing)
- Establishing the link with the various groups involved in beach cleans on CE land.
- Renovation of slipways
- Provision of pontoons
- Upgrading of moorings (consents required etc)
- Education, interpretation, and raising awareness of the marine estate through seminars, codes of conduct, information panels, good practice guides, etc
- Creating and improving access to public amenities
- Considering ways to raise awareness within the community of key issues such as marine renewable in combating climate change
- Encouraging the use of sustainable materials where possible
- Identifying ways to reduce waste and pollution
Funds cannot be spent on:
- Projects which do not take place on, or adjacent to, Crown Estate foreshore or seabed
- Projects seeking commercial benefit (revenue produced by projects must be reinvested in the project)
- Projects concerned with the development or construction of renewable energy devices
- Development of business plans
I hope that you will find the new supplementary grant fund of interest and please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like to discuss any proposals or have any questions. This year’s allocation for Wales under this new fund is a total of £10,000 with individual application likely to be restricted to a maximum grant of £2500 each. I have attached an Application Form which I hope you will find is simple to complete.
For more information about The Crown Estates Marine Communities Fund and the types of projects that have been supported, please follow the link below:
http://www.thecrownestate.co.uk/our_portfolio/marine/marine-stewardship/marine_communities_fund.htm