The first Goole Fields Wind Farm started operating in 2014 which also saw the introduction of a community fund. RWE (formerly Innogy Renewables UK), the wind farm operators made an annual donation to this fund, enabling it to support a wide range of projects which were of benefit to the local community.
The commissioning of the second wind farm (Goole 2) in late 2016 brought with it a further donation.
From January 2018 the annual donation from RWE (formerly Innogy) tripled from around £70,000 per annum to nearly £250,000 per annum. Further details on the fund and projects recently supported can be viewed here: Goole Fields Annual Report 2018-2019 (opens in new window 8.04MB)
A proportion of the additional Goole 2 funds has been ring-fenced to a separate fund for an East Riding wide area of benefit which was launched in early 2020. For further information on this separate fund click in this link East Riding of Yorkshire Future Communities
The fund is designed to specifically benefit communities within a defined geographical area (namely the Wards of Goole North, Goole South, Snaith, Airmyn, Rawcliffe and Marshland plus the Parishes of Kilpin, Laxton, Blacktoft). This is also identified in the downloadable map below:
Area of benefit map – Goole Fields Fund (pdf 6.9mb)
Applications are welcome which promote community, charitable, amenity, educational, energy efficiency and carbon reduction initiatives for the benefit of the communities within the area of benefit.
In addition to being open to receiving normal applications, the fund panel recognises its responsibility to support local community groups and organisations who are working hard to recover from the serious impacts that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it.
To this end, the fund panel will be taking as flexible a position as possible on fund criteria when it considers all applications. No type of costs identified within applications will be excluded for consideration.
This approach will be sustained for all applications received up to November 2022 and then reviewed.
Considering these changes, available funds may be oversubscribed.
Applicants are therefore advised to focus on the questions in the application form that relate to the identification of need (i.e. why funding is sought) and the results (outputs/outcomes) that funding will help groups and organisations to achieve.
The fund wants to encourage applications from as diverse a range of groups as possible including community groups and organisations, charities, social enterprises, town and parish councils, schools and faith communities. New groups or ideas for projects where a group does not currently exist can be considered. Please contact the fund administrator at:
Email: ruralfunding@eastriding.gov.uk
The fund cannot accept applications from private individuals.
The fund cannot support activities adverse to the commercial interests of the wind farm, political or religious campaigns or support services that would otherwise be the statutory responsibility of local or national government.
Payments from the fund will usually be made in the form of grants. Subject to appropriate governance measures as required, other forms of financial assistance (e.g commissioning, loans, donations) can be considered by the fund panel. For further details contact the fund administrator at:
For information on other funding opportunities please visit: Finding a grant
Applications for over £2500 (up to a maximum of £50,000 in value) should be made, online, to the main fund.
Applications for up to £2500 should be made to the fund's Quick Fix Fund. This is a simpler application process for very small one-off projects, and, like the main fund is open year-round to receive applications.
Please also see the answer to 'How do I submit an application?'.
The fund retains the flexibility to support up to 100% of total project costs. However, the fund’s decision-making panel will take into account other external sources of funding (often referred to as 'match funding') and the applicant’s own contribution to the project. This might include one or more of the following: monetary value of in-kind contribution from volunteers, and/or a contribution from own reserves/funds.
Decisions about how the annual donation is spent are made by the Goole Fields Wind Farms Community Fund Panel. The panel is made up of local volunteers, who were appointed following an open application process, and who can draw on a wide range of knowledge, skills and experience when making funding decisions. Representatives from East Riding of Yorkshire Council and the operating company (non-voting) also sit on the panel.
The fund is open to receive applications year-round. The fund has finite resources that can be over-subscribed. Applications go through a technical assessment process and the fund panel makes decisions using a scorecard approach based on the fund criteria.
East Riding of Yorkshire Council is the Accountable Body for the fund and provides the secretariat and administration service through the council’s Rural Policy and Partnerships Team.
The fund is open to receive applications year-round. The fund panel is planning to meet 5 times in 2022 to make funding decisions. Consequently, applications will be grouped into “batches” through the year as follows:
2022 Timetable:
Applicants will be advised promptly of the outcome of decisions made by the Panel.
For the Quick Fix Fund option the applicant completes a paper based application using the forms and guidance that can be downloaded from the bottom of this page. The applicant completes the form and returns it to the administrator via email. The application is then circulated to the panel for a decision and if the application is approved by a majority the applicant is informed and the grant is paid directly into the group/organisations account without the need for an invoice. In most cases this process should only take approximately 14 days from application to decision.
For applications to the main fund:
Applications to the main fund (over £2500) should be made online within the Flexi-Grant system.
To access this system visit the Flexi-Grant website:
Flexi-Grant System (external council website)
There are two options on the system to choose from:
Both forms have Guidance Notes to help you complete the form.
Smaller applications for up to £2500 should be made on the Quick Fix Fund Application Form which, along with Guidance Notes, can be downloaded below:
Quick Fix Fund Application Form (Word 18kb)
Quick Fix Fund Guidance Notes (pdf 110kb)
If you have any queries please contact the fund by email: ruralfunding@eastriding.gov.uk
As previously identified, the Goole Fields 1 Wind Farm Community Fund closed in September 2017. All unspent money from this fund has been transferred to the new Goole Fields Wind Farms Community Fund.
During the lifetime of the Goole Fields 1 Fund it supported many important local community projects and these are recorded in two annual review reports included here for reference:
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