Purpose

To gain permission to accept
the Coronation Living Heritage Fund (CLHF) Grant Funding from ‘Defra’ of Lot 1
‘Microwoods £14,138.00 and Lot 2 Community Orchards of
£19,260.00
 
To seek approval to
deliver the grant scheme attached to Lot 2 targeted
to community groups across Blackpool with support from the WCAF
Treescapes team.?A pilot site will be established in the 2023/4
planting season, with the remainder of the funding delivered in
2024/5.? This approach will consolidate previous experience of
community orchards to allow the early lessons learned in delivering
an onward grant.  
 

Decision

grant permission to accept the
Coronation Living Heritage Fund (CLHF) Grant Funding from
‘Defra’ of Lot 1 ‘Microwoods £14,138.00 and
Lot 2 Community Orchards of £19,260.00
 
To note the successful funding
bids for the CLHF Lot 1 to enable the council to plant microwoods
within the town and Lot 2 to distribute a community grant scheme
for community orchard projects by March 2025.
 
To confirm the criteria for
successful application of the grants to be assessed by the
Lancashire Treescapes team. A panel will meet to discuss all
applications meeting the essential criteria. The key questions
asked of each application will include:
 
•         
Detail where the project is located (in Blackpool)
•         
Explain who will benefit from the orchard
•         
Describe how the project will be a lasting legacy to the
coronation
•         
Provide an evaluation of costs
•         
Demonstrate the potential sustainability and longevity of the
project
 
To authorise the Head of Legal
to enter into agreements with applicants to distribute the Lot 2
Community orchards grant.
 
To delegate the Tree and
Landscape Officer to sign off agreements
 
To confirm, the applicants will
submit a completion report with photographs, and officers will
conduct site checks to ensure that the scheme complies with the
agreed specifications. The following summer of 2026, the applicant
will submit a final report, and further checks will be carried out.
Applicants will be encouraged to record their experience of the
difference the project has made from a social perspective and to
conduct citizen science activities.