Cornish Lithium Reopens Grants for Six Cornwall Villages

If you help run a club, charity or activity group in St Dennis, Nanpean, Treviscoe, Whitemoor, Chacewater or Baldhu, there is money on the table again this year. Cornish Lithium has reopened its Community Fund, and grants run up to £2,500. The deadline to get an application in is Wednesday 5 August.

Who can apply

The Fund awards grants of between £250 and £2,500 to local clubs, charities and activity groups working in Cornish Lithium’s project areas. Those areas cover Chacewater and Kea, specifically Baldhu, along with Nanpean, St Dennis, Treviscoe and Whitemoor.

Cornish Lithium is the company developing lithium extraction from hard rock and geothermal waters in Cornwall. The Community Fund is its way of putting something back into the villages closest to the Trelavour Lithium Project and its Lithium in Geothermal Waters sites.

📷Porthtowan Surf Life Saving Group one of the many projects to have benefited from the Cornish Lithium Community Fund - Credit: Porthtowan Surf Life Saving Group

What the money is for

Applications need to do one of a handful of things. The Fund supports projects that advance education, with a particular interest in earth sciences and Cornish and mining history. It backs work that improves the local environment and helps the move towards net zero. It also covers preserving industrial heritage for educational purposes, and improving residents’ wellbeing through better facilities.

What last year’s money paid for

Zoe Carter, Cornish Lithium’s ESG Engagement Lead, pointed to where previous grants ended up.

“Last year’s funding was used to improve access to a village’s recreation ground and pedestrian safety; upgrade catering facilities at a community centre, host a Blossail Day to preserve Cornish folklore and assist with the running costs of a portable space for social interaction,” she said.

“Each of these projects enriched communities in our areas of operation, whether by enhancing local environments or improving amenities and we look forward to assessing new applications from more clubs, charities and activity groups that seek to benefit residents in the vicinity of our Trelavour Lithium Project and Lithium in Geothermal Waters sites.”

How it is decided

The Fund is administered by Cornwall Community Foundation. A panel will meet in September to assess eligible applications and pick the projects that get a grant, with the money to be spent during 2027.

Tamara Sherston-Baker, Development Director at Cornwall Community Foundation, said the Foundation was glad to be running it again.

“We are delighted to have opened the Cornish Lithium Community Fund for another year,” she said. “Cornwall Community Foundation is proud to partner with Cornish Lithium to support grassroots projects that make a real and lasting difference to people’s lives, and we encourage any eligible group to apply as soon as possible before the 5 August deadline.”

Groups wanting to apply can find the details at https://cornwallcommunityfoundation.com/fundholders/cornish-lithium-community-fund/ , and the deadline is Wednesday 5 August.

📷Georgia’s Voice, a charity that supports young women who are facing mental health challenges. One of the many projects to have benefited from the Cornish Lithium Community Fund - Credit: Georgia's Voice