GrantRadar

Devon Community Resilience Forum (administered by Devon Communities Together)

Devon Emergency Resilience Fund

Small fast-track grants for Devon communities to prepare for emergencies, especially flooding. Scheme 1 gives up to £250 to hold a meeting and set up a community emergency planning group. Scheme 2 gives up to £1,500 for resilience equipment (sandbags, barriers, PPE, signs, torches, radios) and, exceptionally, minor practical works, for groups with a community emergency or flood plan in place or in draft. It is open to parish and town councils and constituted community or flood groups, not individuals, and is funded by Devon County Council and the South West Regional Flood & Coastal Committee.

Apply on the funder’s site
You could get
Up to £1,500
no fixed round
Deadline
Rolling
apply any time
Effort
Light
short form, little evidence needed

Who can apply

  • Constituted organisations in Devon with a bank account in the organisation's name: parish and town councils, community groups, community resilience groups and flood groups
  • Individuals cannot apply and should contact their parish or town council
  • Scheme 1 is for existing constituted community groups and parish/town councils that want to form a community emergency planning group
  • Scheme 2 is for groups with a Community Emergency Plan or Flood Plan in place (which must consider flood risk) and made available through Devon Communities Together, or a draft plan in development that the funding supports
  • Each parish can receive up to £1,500 in any 12 months across both schemes

What it funds

Scheme 1 (up to £250): the costs of forming a community emergency planning group, such as:

  • A public meeting
  • Venue hire
  • Refreshments
  • Leaflets and promotion
  • Follow-up engagement materials
  • Preparing a Community Emergency Plan
  • Scheme 2 (up to £1,500): rapid purchase of simple resilience equipment to deliver the plan, such as:
  • Temporary portable flood barriers
  • Sandbags
  • PVC sheeting
  • Sand hoppers and stores
  • Shovels and tools
  • Road signs
  • Emergency blankets
  • Torches
  • High-visibility jackets and radios for volunteer wardens
  • Up to £200 can be used to communicate the completed plan to the community, using the Forum's key messages
  • Exceptionally, a contribution to small practical works of immediate benefit, such as a one-off clearance of a ditch where the landowner is unknown or will not act; this needs prior discussion with Devon County Council's Flood and Coastal Risk Management team

Communities recently affected by flooding can include recovery works and are prioritised.

The combined maximum across both schemes is £1,500 per parish in any 12-month period.

What it will not fund

  • Individuals
  • Retrospective costs (items or work already bought or paid for)
  • Meetings not specifically aimed at forming or reforming a community emergency planning group
  • Studies or investigations to reduce risk
  • Activities promoted through Devon County Council's community self-help, Road Warden or Snow Warden schemes, such as drain clearance
  • Routine maintenance or work Devon County Council is better placed to arrange
  • Works on public sewers maintained by South West Water
  • Clearing private ditches within riparian responsibilities that benefit only that landowner
  • General maintenance and repair of flood defences (unless there is significant risk and ownership is unclear)
  • Individual property protection such as flood gates, flood boards and non-return valves (a separate Devon County Council scheme covers these)
  • Payments direct to contractors or suppliers

How to apply

  1. Read the guidance and FAQs on the Devon Communities Together website
  2. For minor works, first contact Devon County Council's Flood and Coastal Risk Management team (floodrisk@devon.gov.uk) to check whether the work could be funded
  3. Download the two-page Word application form (Scheme 1 and 2) and complete it: group details, which scheme, plan status and date, organisation bank details, what the money is for, why it is needed, the risks it mitigates, total cost, amount requested, where any balance comes from, and a budget breakdown
  4. Email the form, with quotes or screenshots for the items and your emergency/flood plan or draft plan, to Devon Communities Together (info@devoncommunities.org.uk, marked DCRF)
  5. You will be emailed to confirm approval, usually within 14 days; payment is by bank transfer
  6. Spend the grant within a month of receipt (except minor works) and send evidence of expenditure

There is no closing date, but the fund is limited and allocated first come, first served; areas hit by recent flooding are prioritised.

Apply before buying anything; retrospective costs are not funded.

Have ready

  • Completed application form (Scheme 1 and 2), signed (electronic signature accepted)
  • Quotes, estimates or screenshots for the items to be purchased
  • Copy of your Community Emergency Plan or Flood Plan, or draft plan, if you have one
  • Proposed communication text, if using up to £200 to publicise your plan

Evidence of expenditure is required after the grant is spent.

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