Natural England

We will award grants of £50,000 and over for capital and revenue projects lasting up to five years. Grants are available for regional, national or flagship projects, however all applications must meet the Access to Nature outcomes and benefit our target beneficiaries.

Regional projects

We will award grants of between £50,000 and £500,000 for projects which aim to deliver benefits at a local, regional or multi-regional level. Your project may focus on a few local sites and communities within a region, or could involve an awareness raising campaign covering a number of communities over many regions.

National projects

We will award grants of less than £500,000 for projects which aim to address national scale issues. These projects must:

• cover the whole of England in a thematic sense i.e. propose solutions to national scale issues and/or
• cover the whole of England geographically and must
• demonstrate greater added value than a scaled up regional or multi-regional project.

Flagship projects

Within Access to Nature there is potential for organisations to apply for grant awards of over £500,000. These projects must have a national impact and significance.

Flagship awards will support projects that have an England-wide focus and make a significant and lasting impact on community awareness and participation. These larger grant awards aim to enhance the capacity of the voluntary sector so that it is in a stronger position to meet the needs of communities and to encourage more active involvement in the natural environment.

For grant applications seeking a flagship award the project must fulfil the following criteria:

• be asking for a grant of more than £500,000
• cover the whole of England in a thematic sense ie provide solutions to national scale issues and/or cover the whole of England geographically
• be able to demonstrate greater added value than a regional or multiregional project; and
• enhance the capacity of the voluntary sector; and
• come from the national office of the organisation and be managed from that national office.

More information on the types of grant available and examples can be found in the General Guidance Notes [1.7 MB]. There is a separate Guidance Note relating to Flagship and National Projects Application Deadlines .