The Community-Led Infrastructure Fund (CLIF) by Wealden District Council is a capital grant programme designed to support community-led projects that address local needs and align with the Council Strategy. It is funded by the Community Infrastructure Levy and the Climate Emergency Reserve, with a budget of £2 million allocated for capital grants ranging from £5,000 to £200,000.
The programme prioritises projects that deliver long-lasting benefits to community spaces, infrastructure, and facilities, operating on a rolling basis over three years from September 2025
Eligible project categories include:
- Multi-purpose Community Buildings: Construction, renovation, and enhanced fit-outs such as broadband installation, accessibility improvements, and enhanced internal layouts to support diverse community activities
- Cultural Infrastructure: Capital investment in venues and outdoor spaces for arts, heritage, and creative activities, including temporary staging and community-accessible school theatres
- Greening the District: Enhancements to recreation grounds, nature reserves, trails, community gardens, and implementation of nature-based climate resilience solutions like rain gardens and pollinator plantings
- Sustainable and Warm Community Spaces: Net zero infrastructure projects such as low carbon heating, insulation, LED lighting, PV panels, and EV charging points, excluding ‘like for like’ replacements
- Sports, Leisure, and Recreational Infrastructure: Facilities outside the scope of the Sports Infrastructure Fund Sports Infrastructure Fund 2024-2027 – Wealden District Council, including skateparks, multi-use games areas, BMX tracks, and outdoor play spaces
Eligibility Criteria for CLIF Capital Grants
The nature of this funding programme means that there are conditions on projects that can and cannot be considered eligible to apply for funding.
It is strongly advised that you read the CLIF programme guidance notes. before starting an application.
- CLIF is strictly a capital fund, requiring grants to be spent on assets that create or improve physical spaces or infrastructure. Projects requesting £50,000 or less must deliver benefits for at least five years, while those exceeding this amount must ensure benefits last a minimum of ten years
- Applicants must be not-for-profit entities such as charities, constituted community groups, parish or town councils, community interest companies, sports clubs, schools (with community benefit), and cultural organisations active in Wealden within the last 24 months.
- The project site must be within Wealden District, and applicants must demonstrate ownership or secure leases of appropriate duration (minimum five years for projects under £50,000 and ten years for larger projects).
- Where applicable, planning permission and building control approvals should be obtained prior to application, with relevant documentation submitted.
- Grants awarded can cover up to 80% of project costs, requiring applicants to provide at least 20% match funding from non-Wealden District Council sources. To reduce delivery risks, match funding must be secured at the time of application to be considered eligible for funding from this programme.
If your project proposal does not currently meet the above criteria, then it is not eligible for the CLIF at this time. We want to fund as many eligible projects as possible from this Fund, and for further guidance or queries, please contact the CLIF Grant Funding Coordinator at CLIF@wealden.gov.uk or via phone at 01323 443322
How does my organisation apply?
Firstly, please read the contents of the guidance notes. carefully. The guidance notes set out the eligibility criteria to access the fund and details of the information which needs to accompany the application for the CLIF grant.
Once you have read the guidance and are clear you meet the relevant criteria, you can commence your grant application. To do this please use this version of the application form which can be downloaded here.
Contact Information: Applicants can reach the CLIF Grant Funding Coordinator at CLIF@wealden.gov.uk or via phone at 01323 443322 for assistance and queries.
Information on Community Grant Funding – Wealden District Council
IMPORTANT UPDATE – MAY 2026
We assess each eligible and fully completed application in the order we receive them and the volume of applications we receive makes it difficult to give an exact response about when we can confirm the outcome of an application.
We do receive a number of applications with incomplete information, and it is only possible for us to present fully completed and eligible application for assessment. If you are in any doubt about what to include, please contact the CLIF Grant Funding Coordinator at CLIF@wealden.gov.uk