GrantRadar

Anglian Water (managed by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation)

Anglian Water's Thriving Communities Fund

Grants of £5,000 to £100,000 from Anglian Water, run by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, for non-profit organisations in the Anglian Water region to deliver physical improvements to the natural water environment that also bring community benefits. Projects must do both: capital or practical work such as habitat creation, river restoration, wetlands, water-quality measures or public-space SuDS, plus active community engagement such as volunteering, guided walks or learning. Grants up to £50,000 use a single-stage form, which reopens on 2 November 2026 and closes on 1 February 2027. Bids over £50,000 start with an expression of interest, due 16 October 2026. Anglian Water is putting £5.8m into the fund over five years.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
£5,000 – £100,000
Deadline
106 days left
1 February
Effort
Heavy
budgets, references, often several stages

Who can apply

  • Non-profit organisations with a track record of successful delivery, for projects in the Anglian Water region
  • A project qualifies if it is within Anglian Water's management area, meaning Anglian Water supplies its fresh water, its sewerage services or both (check with Water UK's postcode checker or the catchment maps)
  • The FAQ describes the area as parts of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, Cambridgeshire, Northamptonshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire, small areas of South Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Leicestershire, and the area around Hartlepool
  • Cambridgeshire Community Foundation's general rules cover registered, exempt and excepted charities, CIOs, parish and town councils, village halls, CICs, social enterprises and companies limited by guarantee (these must have been running for at least a year), co-operatives and community benefit societies, schools, and some sports clubs
  • Organisations with income over £5,000 must be legally registered
  • Higher-tier local authorities and non-departmental public bodies that own or manage land may be eligible and must contact CCF first
  • For partnership bids, the lead partner must meet the not-for-profit rules and is responsible for delivery
  • For major capital work, the applicant must own the land or hold a lease with at least 25 years unexpired
  • Major capital projects need planning permission before applying
  • Submit only one application per round, and do not apply again in the same year after an award

What it funds

Projects that nurture, repair, protect or sustain the natural water environment (all natural and managed water systems and connected ecosystems, including the sea) through physical interventions or capital work, and that also deliver social benefits through active community engagement with that environment. Examples:

  • Restoring or creating habitat for native aquatic and riparian species
  • Protecting endangered species
  • Re-meandering, bank stabilisation or re-profiling, and removing barriers to fish migration
  • Reconnecting rivers with floodplains
  • Projects that directly deliver measurable reductions in pollutants
  • Nature-based solutions such as buffer strips
  • Rehabilitating or creating wetlands
  • SuDS schemes in public spaces that have multiple benefits

Water quality monitoring and citizen science can be included only as part of a wider project that delivers physical improvements.

Community benefits can include guided walks for mental health, helping marginalised or vulnerable groups access water environments, education on water quality and conservation, training and employment such as in habitat management, and volunteering.

Eligible costs: habitat creation and restoration, species conservation, physical groundwork and equipment, continuation of successful projects, staffing and overheads directly related to delivery, interpretation as a small part of a wider project, materials, and reasonable travel.

Projects with a clear legacy are prioritised.

Most projects should last no more than 2-3 years and should be able to start within about 6 months of the deadline.

What it will not fund

  • Infrastructure or facilities that do not directly benefit the natural water environment, including waste water treatment, mains water connection, culverts, new build projects or drainage
  • Boreholes and irrigation projects
  • Staffing, salary and overhead (core) costs not directly related to delivering the project
  • Projects that do not directly benefit people or environments in the Anglian Water region
  • Projects that have previously received substantial funding from Anglian Water for the same or similar work
  • Match funding for other Anglian Water programmes (e.g. A-WINEP projects)
  • Events, parties, trips and initiatives based on mass gatherings
  • Land purchase (generally; may be considered in certain circumstances)
  • Surveys, data collection and research, except as a small proportion of a wider project
  • Interpretation-only or education-only projects
  • Legal fees
  • Planning and design fees
  • Project development costs
  • SuDS on private sites or in locations accessed by fee-paying visitors or users
  • Car parks, fencing, hard surfacing and similar infrastructure as the major element of a project
  • Onward grant-making or transferring any part of the grant in cash to partners

How to apply

  1. Check that the project site is served by Anglian Water (Water UK postcode checker or the catchment maps on the fund page) and read the fund FAQs and CCF application guidance
  2. For grants of £5,000 to £50,000: complete the single-stage online application, which reopens on 2 November 2026, by 11:59am on 1 February 2027
  3. For grants over £50,000: submit an Expression of Interest through the online form by 16 October 2026
  4. If your EOI is selected, you will be invited to a full application at the beginning of December 2026, with a deadline of 1 February 2027

Invited full applications have to be submitted within 4-6 weeks, so the project must already be well developed.

CCF round deadlines are 11:59am (midday), not midnight.

The fund has its own application form, so you may also submit a general CCF application in the same round.

Have ready

  • Signed governing document confirming not-for-profit status, with a dissolution clause
  • Accounts for the past year (or an income and expenditure record for small or new groups)
  • Bank statement or paying-in slip from the last 3 months
  • Names of three unconnected committee members/trustees and two unconnected signatories
  • Evidence of land ownership, leases or management agreements and landowner permission
  • Letters of support, evidence of consultation, and licences or planning permission (or progress towards them)
  • Maps or plans of the proposed work, and impact or environmental assessments if applicable
  • Evidence of other funding secured, a timetable and procurement plans

The project-evidence items are listed as examples of what may be requested, especially for large and invited applications. Supporting documents must come with the application by the deadline, and CCF does not need them again if it has received them in the last two years.

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