03 January 2012

Some important changes have been made to the Big Lottery Fund's Reaching Communities buildings fund, with immediate effect:

• Eligible areas are now based on 2010 deprivation figures
• The number of areas deemed eligible has been increased, from the 15% to 20% of the most deprived urban areas. The criteria for rural town and village areas remain the same. As before, you need to enter a postcode on their website to check eligibility.

• If you want to fund a building which will serve people in an eligible area, but will actually be based outside it, you can apply to the exceptions process. There are clear criteria for this - it is not a way of funding buildings serving less deprived areas.

Further information on the changes to the programme, including the exceptions process, are on the website.
If you are not eligible, you may still be able to apply to the small capital programme within the main Reaching Communities Fund.

Contact: Big Lottery Fund
Telephone: 0845 4 10 20 30
Website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/prog_reaching_communities?tab=3®ioncode=-uk