Page created: 17 October 2023.

The speakers are:

• Moe Horikaw, Investment Manager, Wales, National Lottery Heritage Fund (Presenter)
• Julie Hughes, Head of Investment, Wales, National Lottery Heritage Fund
• Jim Latham, Natural Resources Wales/Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru 
• Kirsty Lindenbaum, Natural Resources Wales/Cyfoeth Naturiol Cymru

FAQs arising from the webinar

Attendees at the webinar raised a series of questions, which we have answered below.

The answers to several questions raised can be found by reading the guidance. Please read the guidance and the help notes carefully before applying.

If a project is largely a capacity building project, can there still be small elements of capital spend within it, or can there not be any capital at all if you are submitting a capacity building project?

Yes, you can include it. The focus of those grants should be around capacity, but if that is things like pilot projects, which will give you knowledge to do a bigger project in the future, then those sorts of capital costs can be included.

Can you purchase land with the funding?

No.

Does an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) count as a protected site under these criteria?

No, it does not. However, your project may ultimately help/support an AONB, as work can happen around or across sites.

What is the revenue/capital split available this round?

There is a split of 66% revenue and 34% capital available.

How many applications can an organisation make if they are included in a joint application or partners in an application?

We would be looking at one per the main/lead applicant organisation. So if you are the joint or partner in the application you may be included in multiple.

Is this the final round of funding or will there be future rounds available?

At this stage we can only guarantee this round of funding.

Can statutory land be included in an application?

The inclusion of statutory land is ok. However, what we can't fund is statutory responsibility, so from the application we'll need to know what that work is and why you require getting a grant to do it as opposed to it being attached to responsibility that should be funded elsewhere.

Can we match fund current Nature Networks projects with this round?

No, however you can submit a separate project application even if you have had previous Nature Networks funding or are currently delivering a project under the previous rounds.

Why is the application window so short?

This was due to delays in Welsh Government budget reviews from Ministers. As a result, and in order to still deliver the grant programme at all in this financial year, we had to drop the large grants and reduce the application window in order to allow for an appropriate assessment period.