Guidance

About the Water Restoration Fund

Published 9 April 2024

Applies to England

The Water Restoration Fund has up to £11 million to fund local projects. The Fund will be used to restore and enhance the water environment in specified geographical areas, using environmental fines and penalties collected from water and sewerage companies in those areas between April 2022 and October 2023.

A successful project under this Fund must focus on improving and preventing further deterioration of the water environment in the geographical regions where the fines and penalties were issued. This includes supporting:

• water bodies to return to good ecological status, ecological potential, or chemical status; or prevent further deterioration from the current ecological status, ecological potential, or chemical status
• water-dependent protected sites to return to or remain at favourable condition
• the restoration of other water-dependent habitats and species especially where action supports restoration of associated protected sites or water bodies

Your project may also:

• support delivery of the biodiversity targets set under the Environment Act, including the statutory targets to halt the decline of species abundance by 2030 and to restore or create more than 500,000 hectares of wildlife-rich habitat outside protected sites by 2042
• support the Environmental Improvement Plan commitment to restore 75% of our one million hectares of terrestrial and freshwater protected sites to favourable condition by 2042
• increase the resilience of the natural environment to current and emerging environmental hazards (such as flooding, droughts and climate change) by utilising nature-based solutions and restoring natural processes
• consider how sustainable community access to nature, blue space and the establishment of educational opportunities can be incorporated
• consider identifying match funding opportunities for your project. This could be monetary or non-monetary. Match funding from other sources to reduce the amount of grant requested will increase your project’s value for money which is taken into account at the technical assessment stage

Water-dependent protected sites include Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and internationally designated sites (Ramsar, Special Area of Conservation and Special Protection Areas) where the presence and condition of habitats, and species they support are predominantly determined by water.

The Water Restoration Fund is a competitive grant scheme and is limited to the specified geographical areas below. We will assess applications against the scheme objectives, value for money and each other.

There are other public funding schemes available for water restoration and related projects in other geographical areas or nationally.

Who can apply

You can apply for the grants if you are:

• an environmental or another not-for-profit organisation
• a member of a Protected Landscape (National Park Authority and National Landscape)
• from a local authority
• a landowner, land manager or farmer
• any other authority that is not part of, or an agency of, UK central government (where there is not a statutory obligation in place)
• a catchment partnership (applications to be submitted by their host organisation)

Your project must also be in an area in which sewage collection and treatment is provided by:

• Thames Water
• Yorkshire Water
• Anglian Water
• United Utilities
• South West Water

You can check which water and sewerage company your project area is in at Water UK.

We strongly encourage you to work in partnership with other organisations. Projects should engage with local catchment partnerships and local authorities leading local nature recovery strategies where relevant, to ensure projects are aligned with priority actions identified by those local groups.

Who cannot apply  

You cannot apply if you’re from:

• water and sewerage companies
• non-departmental public bodies
• government departments and executive agencies
• non ministerial departments (such as the Forestry Commission)

You do not need partnership funding to apply for a development award, but applications for delivery awards should seek to secure partnership funding and provide evidence of this as it will improve the scoring when we assess your application.

There is no restriction on working in partnership with water and sewerage companies, if this is beneficial to project outcomes. However, the water and sewerage company cannot be the lead applicant, financially benefit from the project, be the recipient of any funding, or use this fund or outcome of the project to perform statutory obligations.

Projects that can be funded

This Fund is focused on restoring and improving inland and estuarine waters and wetlands in the specified geographical areas where fines and penalties from water and sewerage companies have accrued. For the purposes of this scheme, inland and estuarine waters and wetlands are defined as rivers, streams and their headwaters (including chalk streams), canals, lakes, ponds, wetlands (including freshwater and saltwater wetlands) and estuarine waters.

Open coastal water projects are excluded at this stage of the Fund to ensure investment is prioritised where it is most needed - only 14% of rivers and lakes are at good ecological status, compared to 45% of coastal waters.

We welcome any application that meets the eligibility criteria and satisfies the lead objective. We welcome proposals for projects where increased action is needed and there are no existing organisations accountable for mitigating or remedying the damage to the water environment, or to restore historic damage.

We welcome single project bids or a portfolio of multiple projects where increased scale would bring additional benefits. We encourage applicants to develop and put forward ambitious ecosystem wide restoration projects that deliver multiple environmental benefits. Projects should aim to work at a catchment scale to deliver integrated outcomes and address multiple objectives where possible.

Applicants may wish to consider the following solutions:

• projects that restore, create, and protect (for example, by habitat buffering) water and wetland wildlife-rich habitats and species they support, utilising, or testing, nature-based solutions where possible
• physical works to restore rivers, lakes and wetlands, including removing barriers to fish migration and improving other habitats
• projects to tackle pollution sources or pressures on inland or estuarine designated bathing waters
• removing, limiting the spread, and managing non-native invasive species
• carrying out feasibility studies to better understand the pressures on the water environment and the effectiveness of remedial methods and new technologies
• managing sources of water pollution, in particular diffuse pollution in rural and urban areas (especially nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment pollution)
• managing sustainable use of water resources and support reducing demand for water
• increase sustainable public access to and engagement with blue and green space

We particularly encourage applicants to embed, test and pilot innovative technological approaches as part of project delivery. This may range from the use of data and artificial intelligence driven approaches to the use of mapping software and remote sensing technologies.

Proposals should demonstrate how they accord with recognised strategic priorities and delivery plans, including (but not limited to):

• Catchment Partnership Plans and priority actions and measures for 2022 to 2027
• River basin management plans
• Local nature recovery strategies
• Protected Site Strategies
• Peat Action Plan
• England Trees Action Plan
• The Great Britain invasive non-native species strategy (2023 to (2030)
• Nature recovery projects

How much money you can apply for

There are 2 grants available.

A grant can cover up to 100% of eligible costs.

Development awards

Short-term grants to build capability and help you design and plan future projects.

Grant value: from £75,000 to £250,000
Project length: 6 to 12 months
Project start date: from July 2024 
Project end date: within 12 months of the project start date

Delivery awards

Medium to long-term grants to help you carry out projects you’ve already planned. Your project should begin as soon as possible after receiving a grant funding agreement.

Grant value: from £500,000 to £2 million
Project length: 12 to 30 months
Project start date: from July 2024 
Project end date: by 31 March 2027

Read guidance on how to apply for the Water Restoration Fund

Funding available in water and sewerage company regions

Water company	Amount of available funding
Anglian Water	£3,085,000
South West Water	£2,150,000
Thames Water	£3,334,000
United Utilities	£800,000
Yorkshire Water	£1,600,750

What your grant will pay for

Your grant can pay for activities that support your project in meeting the Fund’s objectives, including:

• purchase of materials
• equipment purchase or hire (where it is critical to the delivery of the project)
• costs of a contractor or procurement fees for permits, licenses, or consents, where there is no statutory requirement for these to be in place
• grant monitoring and evaluation activities
• software, data or mapping costs or the commissioning of specialist technical advice
• feasibility studies
• project management employees (staff costs) directly related to the administration and delivery of the project being funded

What your grant will not pay for

Your grant will not pay for:

• work or activities which the grant recipient, or any member of their partnership has a statutory duty to undertake, or that are fully funded by other sources
• business running costs
• donated work or services
• projects or activities completely outside of England or outside the boundary of eligible water and sewerage company regions (project activities can fall outside of the eligible regions, however, they will not receive funding towards them: only activities within the eligible region will receive funding)
• projects not delivering direct interventions related to the improvement of the water or wetland environment
• projects delivering and involving improvements to water industry assets or land
• projects focusing on coastal water bodies (estuarine habitats are eligible)
• projects led by water companies or projects that financially benefit water and sewerage companies
• any activity that is already being directly supported by an existing public sector funding scheme (such as those set out in the ‘other funding schemes’ section)
• fines, charges, or penalties of any kind
• VAT, where this is recoverable
• any expenditure already carried out before the funding is agreed
• any project that has already had funding allocated or addressing the same intervention as a project already funded
• expenses, such as for gifts or entertaining, specifically aimed at influencing government policy

How your application will be assessed

Your application will be assessed by a technical assessment panel against the scoring criteria.

You will need to demonstrate your project is financially viable. We will look at your supporting evidence to consider viability and request a Spotlight check (this is the government’s online automated due-diligence tool for grant management).

Read about how RPA will assess your application and how to meet the assessment criteria

Other funding schemes

Before you apply, you should consider whether this fund is the most relevant public sector scheme for your project.

Open funding schemes include:

• Environmental Land Management (ELMS)  including Sustainable Farming Incentive, Countryside Stewardship and Landscape Recovery
• Farming in protected landscapes programme
• Community and Environment Fund (CEF) and Business and Local Economy Fund (BLEF)
• Nutrient mitigation scheme
• England Woodland Creation Offer

When we assess if projects have dual funding overlap, we will consider closed schemes including:

• Nature for Climate Fund – including The Paludiculture Exploration Fund and Climate Peatland Grant Scheme
• Grow Back Greener
• Species Survival Fund
• Environment Agency Natural Flood Management programme
• Natural Environment Investment Readiness Fund (NEIRF)

When you will be paid

Successful applicants will be paid in arrears and will be able to submit up to 3 claims per year for expenditure incurred on the project.

Advance payments

Advance payments may be available under certain circumstances.

We will consider paying up to 25% of the project grant up front to small voluntary or community groups which need immediate working capital to carry out the initial project deliverables.

In such cases, we will need additional evidence including:

• a cash flow forecast demonstrating the need for advance payments
• your last 3 years’ audited accounts
• your last 12 months’ bank statements

This information will be used to assess the liquidity of the individual or organisation and to decide whether advance payments are justified.

Definitions of small voluntary or community groups for this Fund are:

• voluntary sector organisations are those bodies whose activities are carried out not for profit and which are not public authorities or local authorities
• community organisation or community-based organisation refers to organisations aimed at making desired improvements to a community’s social health, well-being, and overall functioning. Community organisation occurs in geographically, psychosocially, culturally, spiritually, and digitally bounded communities
• small organisations refer to those with an annual turnover of less than £10.2 million, a balance sheet total of no more than £5.1 million, or have less than 50 employees

How we use your information

For information on how we handle personal data go to GOV.UK and search Rural Payments Agency personal information charter.

Contact us

You can contact RPA by email, phone, or post.

We need to receive all questions about the Water Restoration Fund by 11.59pm on 31 May 2024. Questions received after this time will not be answered.

Rural Payments Agency
PO Box 69
Reading
RG1 3YD

Email: grants@rpa.gov.uk.

Telephone: 03000 200 301 - listen for Grant Schemes and select the Water Restoration Fund option.

Monday to Friday, 8:30am to 5pm, except bank holidays
Find out about call charges.

Please quote your single business identifier (SBI) in all enquiries.