Airport Environmental and Amenity Improvement Fund (AEAIF) (also known as Bristol Airport Local Community Fund 2024)

Introduction

The Airport Environmental Improvement Fund (known as the Bristol Airport Local Community Fund) has been established to invest in a range of local projects which benefit the local community and the environment. Its main purpose is to mitigate the environmental impacts of the Airport’s operations and give something back to the surrounding communities who are affected by being situated in close proximity to an international airport. It reflects our aim to develop our airport in a sustainable way, respectful of the local community and the environment.

Purpose of the AEAIF (also known as Bristol Airport Local Community Fund 2024)

As defined within the S106 legal agreement, the AEAIF shall be used for the purposes of mitigation to address unforeseen adverse environmental impacts or adverse impacts on the amenity of the local community arising from the Development.

Unforeseen Adverse Environmental Impacts and Impacts on the Amenity

‘Amenity’ refers to the quality or character of an area and elements that contribute to the overall enjoyment of an area. Many environmental issues will often impact on the amenity of an area, and therefore there is considerable overlap between environmental impacts and impacts on the amenity. The AEAIF is available to provide funding to mitigate such environmental impacts. Schemes which are likely to be viewed positively include:

Schemes which improve, enhance, protect and conserve the natural environment within the vicinity of the Airport.
Schemes which generate renewable energy or schemes designed to reduce energy consumption within the vicinity of the Airport (for non-residential buildings only).
Noise mitigation for non-residential buildings. (Residential buildings can apply to the separate Noise Mitigation Scheme).
Traffic implications associated with an increase in passengers using the Airport.
Any other projects/schemes which can demonstrate they will help mitigate an environmental and/or amenity impact that can be attributed to the Airport expanding.

Geographical Area

In order to obtain funding from the AEAIF, applicants must explain how the money will help mitigate the negative environmental and amenity impacts in their local community that can be attributed to (either wholly or partly) the operations and development at Bristol Airport. The benefits to the local community must be clearly established.

A strict geographical boundary will not be established for the AEAIF, as the focus will be on submissions demonstrating how the Airport’s operations affect the community and how funding will assist. Therefore, it is likely that locations within the North Somerset administrative area, particularly in close proximity to the Airport, are likely to have the strongest cases for funding, but there may be other reasonably close areas within adjacent administrative areas that can also demonstrate a need for some funding. The AEAIF is for mitigation of environmental and amenity impacts which can be attributed to the Airport, so providing a submission bid can demonstrate this, it will be considered.

Governance

Applications for funding can be made throughout the calendar year with a committee meeting to allocate funding held on a quarterly basis. Deadlines for submissions to be considered at the appropriate quarterly committee meetings will be published online. Any bids received after the deadline will be considered the following quarter.

The committee meetings will be chaired by an independent chairperson who will have voting rights. Unless otherwise agreed with North Somerset Council, the Airport Consultative Committee independent chairperson will also perform the role of chairing the AEAIF Committee. Up to four North Somerset Council elected members will also attend with voting rights, along with up to four Bristol Airport employees, also with voting rights.

Submissions presented to the committee will be accompanied by a recommendation from the Fund Administrator on whether it should be approved or not, based on the submissions ability to meet the AEAIF criteria. The committee will debate the submission and confirm whether they agree with the recommendation or not. Decisions from the committee meetings will be recorded and made available on the Airport’s website. The committee decisions are final and there is no scope to appeal or re-apply, unless the bid has been significantly amended so it removes information which attributed to its failure the first time or includes additional information not presented in the original application. The Committee will have the power to defer applications for further information if required. Successful applicants will not be able to bid again for a similar project in the same location for 24 months.

Eligibility and Criteria

The main criteria that applications will be assessed on is how the funding will help to mitigate the environmental and amenity impacts which can be attributed to the Airport (as outlined above). However, further eligibility criteria are set below:

Grants will not be made to political parties, commercial organisations or those which are working for profit.
Grants will not be awarded to organisations which have statutory responsibilities and the grant would be used to meet those responsibilities. Grants may be awarded to schools in accordance with the Fund Criteria.
Applications from individuals will be considered on their merits provided the project meets the fund criteria and these guidelines. However, it will be important to demonstrate wider community benefit.
Churches or places of worship may not be eligible for funding if they exclude users on grounds of religion. Benefit to the wider community and non-worshippers should be clearly demonstrated.
In order to distribute the funds evenly and fairly, priority will be given to projects with a value of less than £8,000. However, projects in excess of this value may be considered if they offer exceptional community benefit. Priority will be given to projects which include detailed costs and funding from other sources.
Grants will not be awarded to projects which have already been carried out and paid for.
Grants are intended primarily for capital projects and will not normally be awarded for recurrent expenditure, running costs, salaries and expenses, general repair and maintenance, general sponsorship, office costs, office equipment, administration, general medical costs, uniforms, individual’s sports kit, out of school clubs or the purchase of land or buildings. Any grants awarded will be exclusive of VAT where the applicant may otherwise reclaim VAT.
A maintenance plan may be required for projects which involve the creation of physical assets. e.g. a biodiversity project requiring ongoing maintenance.
Prospective applicants should contact the Fund Administrator for further advice regarding their eligibility with respect to the above criteria.

Miscellaneous

Applications may be submitted at any time but applicants are advised to check the deadline for the next Management Committee meeting with the Fund Administrator to ensure that their applications are dealt with promptly. Applications will be assessed initially to see if further information is needed or whether it is necessary to visit the project. Applications will be acknowledged and submitted to the next Management Committee. Following the Management Committee meeting applicants will be advised by letter of the Committee decision.
Applicants should be aware that successful project applications may be publicised.
Grants should normally be spent within three months of receipt and original invoices/receipts for the works or goods purchased must be provided to the Fund Administrator within this time. The Grants may be repayable if the project is not undertaken with this timescale. Organisations able to reclaim VAT should make this clear in their application and must not profit from any grant received.
The decision of the Committee is final. If your application is turned down you will be provided with as much information as appropriate to explain why. If you have any queries regarding the decision-making process these should be referred to the Community Fund Administrator.
Please note that applications should demonstrate that contractors or products required to undertake proposed projects have been selected through a competitively tendered process.

The eligibility criteria and application process will be reviewed by the Management Committee on an annual basis and any amendments agreed by the Committee as part of that review shall be published and adopted for use in the subsequent year.

Applicant details
Applicant name Name of organisation Position in organisation Contact address for correspondence Contact email address Confirm contact email address Post Code Phone number Are you part of a larger organisation? If so please provide details. Priority will be give to local groups rather than national organisations. How much money are you requesting from us?

Your Project
Please provide the location of your project including the name of the parish and postcode Please describe your project and what you would like to do. Supporting information should be provided as a separate attachment - available at the end of this form. Please explain how it meets the funding criteria set out at the top of this form Does your organisation have any statutory responsibilities for the provision and maintenance of facilities or services associated with this project? If yes, please explain below. What approvals or permissions do you need for your project and have these been received? If not, when will permission be received? What is the project timescale?

Funding
Please provide a detailed itemised estimate of the cost of your project. Please provide written back up in the form of quotations, estimates etc - you can attach these at the end of the form Which other organisations, funds or trusts have you approached or applied to for funding? Please provide details and amounts secured. Do you have any confirmed funding? If yes, please provide details. If no, please confirm why the project has not been funded by other organisations. How do you plan to raise additional funding for the project? Have you received a grant from the Bristol Airport Local Community Fund before? If yes please provide details. If your application is successful please provide BACS payment details.

Organisation details
In the case of applications from organisations, please provide the full details of your organisation, including membership details and fees. Does your group have a constitution or set of rules? If so please attach it at the end of this form If you are a registered charity please provide charity registration number. Do you have an annual report or financial statement? If so please attach it at the end of this form

Publicity
Bristol Airport may publicise grants that are made. Please confirm that this is acceptable to you How will you recognise any contribution from the Bristol Airport Local Community Fund?

The Fund
How did you hear about the Bristol Airport Local Community Fund?

Files
Please attach files referenced in the rest of your application