Since the ECB County Grants Fund began in 2021, the Cornwall Cricket Board has assisted 26 club projects in Cornwall to obtain Grant funding exceeding £189k.

The fund aims to support affiliated cricket clubs to create welcoming environments, provide enhanced facilities and playing opportunities for women, girls' and disability cricket, and develop environmentally sustainable facilities.

Recent grant awards to clubs have included energy-saving projects, provision of solar panels, boilers, improving clubhouse facilities for women and girls, catering equipment upgrades and replacement of non-turf pitches.

The 2025 County Grant scheme will see the first application window open on Monday, 1st February and run for seven weeks. Clubs considering applying are encouraged to start the planning effort now, as it can take time to gather quotes and obtain planning permission (if necessary).
We will be holding two separate application windows during this year. The strategy is to allow clubs to move forward with non-impacting projects during the playing season or embark on more impacting projects after the season completes. More details on these application windows are provided in the table below.

The fund has three essential themes:

• Creating Welcoming Environments.
• Providing Enhanced Facilities and Playing Opportunities for Women’s and Girls’ Cricket and/or Disability Cricket.
• Tackling Climate Change.

Clubs can apply for between £1,000 and £10,000 but are expected to also contribute with partnership funding. 

APPLICATIONS AND DEADLINES FOR 2025 
Applications will be via the ECB IMS system and the full application process is explained in the County Grant Application Guide. The flow chart in Sect 14 is a helpful guide.

We cannot commence any detailed consideration of an application until it has been formally submitted through Expression of Interest through the ECB Investment Management System (IMS) portal, so clubs are reminded to ensure they are registered on IMS and in a position to start their County Grant application. You will need to have two club contacts who are approved by the CCB.

After the initial Expression of Interest (EOI) stage, the Cornwall Cricket Board (CCB) will advise clubs with viable projects to complete their application within the IMS portal. This is not an indication that each application will be successful, only that it meets the appropriate criteria for applying.

Applications will be assessed within 15 working days of the EOI being submitted. Over this period clubs will be notified if the project is either ineligible or missing key information. This may result in the application being referred back to clubs for further details to be uploaded.

All applications will then be reviewed by an internal peer review panel. They will be assessed against developed criteria and aligned with county strategy.

Clubs will need evidence that they have an active Club Development plan and clearly show where the project(s) fit within such a development plan.
With a pre-determined budget, the amount of funding may vary. The amount of grant offered may differ from that requested by the club.

If the application is considered viable it will be supported by CCB and forwarded to the ECB Case Officer for final scrutiny and award allocation. An offer decision by the ECB can take up to 30 working days.

A club will have the opportunity to appeal should they want to contest the panel's decision. 

In exceptional circumstances, if a club has a project that needs to be completed on an urgent basis, and can evidence this, then they can contact CCB to discuss the potential of funds being released early.

Application window deadline
Application window 1 - Opens 1st February 2025 - Closes 22nd February 2025
Application window 2 - Opens 1st July 2025 - Closes 19th August 2025 
(please note, if the budget is allocated in window 1, there will be no application window 2)

THE NEXT STEPS 
Familiarise yourself with the County Grant Fund guidance notes 
Utilise the ‘Creating Welcoming Environments' resource, survey and checklist to help develop your project plan.  
Define your project needs clearly and commence your early stages of obtaining costs.
Identify your club representative who will lead your project. Remember you will need two contacts for the application process.
Consider at an early stage the need for appropriate Planning Permission and Building Regulations as these can be time-consuming processes.
When you consider you have a suitable project, please complete the Expression of Interest stage of the IMS application process. If there is uncertainty then contact the Cornwall Cricket Board.

CONTACT
Further details will be shared in due course, but interested clubs are encouraged to start planning now and to contact Joe Skinner to discuss the viability of their intended project.
Joe Skinner (07785722251)
[email protected]