Bluespaces Fund
In 2020 Northumbrian Water carried out an analysis of water environments and found thousands of kilometres of water environments accessible to the public, (areas within 100m of water which can be viewed here). Northumbrian Water defines these areas as ‘bluespaces’.
Since then, the Bluespaces funding scheme has invested around £1 million to partners to support enhancements to water environments in these bluespaces, and from 2025 onward the amount of funding available has more than tripled.
This funding scheme focuses on working in partnership to improve water environments and offers a guideline amount of £10,000 per km of ‘bluespaces’ enhanced. This funding is unrestricted and can be used to fund physical improvements, salary costs, or overheads. There is no upper or lower limit to funding, and although the funding offered is likely to be seed or match, it could also cover the entire project’s cost.
Support is offered to partners who receive funding through Northumbrian Water’s Just an Hour scheme, in which our employees can volunteer to support project activities. Northumbrian Water can also offer assistance with publicity and promotion of your project.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the scheme a project must be situated within our areas of interest & create improvements in a minimum of two of the following criteria:
• Access, facilities & recreation
• Wildlife & Biodiversity
• Water Quality
Project Types
The Bluespaces funding scheme offers 3 distinct types of funding, these are:
1. Candidate Funding:- To deliver improvements on the ground to accessible water environments.
2. Feasibility Funding:- To conduct either large-sale opportunity reviews or project-specific development leading to candidate projects.
3. Maintenance Funding:- To support previous projects.
Find out more!
To learn more about the scheme please visit our website or alternatively, to ask us anything ‘bluespaces’, contact [email protected]