Quantock Hills. An Area of Outstanding Beauty

As less funding is available this year the maximum grant available is £10,000. The SDF Panel will give priority to projects that demonstrate strong community support and involve volunteers.

Projects that were awarded grants last year include an Outdoor Education project for Danesfield School, a book called ‘The Emerald Dragon’, by Clare Viner which re-tells traditional Quantock and Blackdown Hills folk stories, a Long Eared Owl awareness raising project, and funding towards the refurbishment of Coleridge Cottage in Nether Stowey. (pictured).

The Quantock Hills AONB Sustainable Development Fund Panel meets several times during the year to consider applications (see below). Applicants will be notified of the panels’ decision within four weeks of the application deadline.

Application Deadlines

- Friday 16^th March 2012

- Friday 25^th May 2012

- Friday 27^th July 2012

- Friday 28^th September 2012

Projects must link with the aims of the AONB Management Plan 2009-2014.

The Quantock Hills AONB Management Plan 2009 – 2014 is available on the Publications (click here) page of this web site. The Management Plan highlights the special qualities of the AONB, the challenges the area faces and suggests how these might be addressed.

The Sustainable Development Fund supports projects that bring social, environmental and economic benefits to the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB).

Achieving sustainable development requires working towards four goals at the same time:

- Social progress which meets the needs of everyone
- Effective protection of the environment
- Ensuring a diverse and prosperous rural economy
- Careful use of natural resources

Individual projects can place particular emphasis on any one of the four goals. Ideally, they should seek to make progress on all of them, but demonstrate no negative impact on any.

Application forms along with more information on types of eligible projects, who can apply and general guidance is avaliable from the resource section of the website (click here).

Completed Application Forms must be emailed to quantockhills@somerset.gov.uk

Handwritten applications will not be accepted.

Follow links to documents:

Application Form (word doc)

Information sheet (pdf)

Guidance notes (pdf)

Photo: Coleridge Cottage parlour,  courtesy of National Trust