Anglian Water’s Thriving Communities Fund

About the fund

Anglian Water’s Thriving Communities Fund exists to empower groups in our region to improve their local water environment and create positive social impact. It gives them the opportunity to drive change and tell us where money should be spent.

Over the next five years, we’ll be putting £5.8m of shareholder funds into projects that improve the water environment and bring real social benefits to our communities. This aligns closely with our purpose, and we’re excited to work closely with local communities to help them make the most of the fund. Whether it’s shaping spaces that enhance wellbeing and reduce flood risk, improving water quality, or helping local species thrive, there are countless ways this fund can help communities flourish.

We are offering grants of between £5,000 and £100,000 to support projects across the entire Anglian Water region that will deliver measurable physical improvements to the natural water environment whilst also delivering associated social benefits, combining two important pillars of our purpose.

This programme is managed by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation on behalf of Anglian Water.

Fund criteria

Applications are sought from non-profit organisations in the Anglian Water region with a track record of successful delivery. They must demonstrate how a project will benefit both the natural water environment (eg natural habitat, biodiversity, water quality) and the people living in the Anglian Water region, as well as how that change will be measured.

You can view maps of the Anglian Water management catchments at the base of this page, and you can check if you are supplied by Anglian Water at www.water.org.uk/customers/find-your-supplier

Projects that provide a clear legacy will be prioritised.

What are we looking for?

Projects must nurture, repair, protect or sustain our natural water environment. This means projects must deliver physical interventions or capital work that makes a positive difference to the natural water environment. The natural water environment covers all natural and managed water systems and the ecosystems connected to them, including the sea.

This could look like one or more of the examples below:

Biodiversity enhancement

• Restoration or creation of habitats for native aquatic and riparian species.
• Protection of endangered species (see FAQ about control of Invasive Non-Native Species).

River and stream morphology improvements

• Re-meandering, bank stabilisation or re-profiling, or removal of barriers to fish migration (see FAQ).
• Projects that reconnect rivers or streams with their natural floodplains.

Improvement in water quality

• Projects that directly deliver measurable reductions in pollutants (e.g. nitrates, phosphates, microplastics). Monitoring is not sufficient by itself – see below
• Installing nature-based solutions (NbS) such as planting or buffer strips to reduce run-off of polluted water into natural waterbodies.
• Rehabilitating or creating wetland areas to naturally filter pollutants and improve biodiversity.

Sustainable drainage systems (SuDS) in public spaces 

• SuDS schemes which use green infrastructure to replicate natural drainage, manage surface water and reduce urban runoff may be supported in public spaces (streets, parks, squares, roads, community spaces).
• Schemes which benefit a single property or site will only be supported in exceptional circumstances, where there is a known severe flood or surface water issue.
• SuDS schemes must demonstrate multiple benefits beyond purely surface water management.
• Multi-site schemes installing SuDS via a partnership approach will be considered on a case by case basis.

A note on community water quality monitoring (citizen science) and environmental stewardship

• Water quality monitoring and environmental stewardship activities can be included where these are part of a wider project which is delivering measurable physical improvements to the natural water environment.
• Catchment-wide water quality monitoring schemes to raise awareness and effect change via a partnership approach will be considered on a case by case basis.

IN ADDITION to the main focus on physical improvements to the natural water environment, projects must also deliver social benefits for communities in our region, related to their local natural water environment. 

This covers enabling and encouraging communities to access and appreciate their local natural water environment, raising awareness or teaching people about their natural water environment, or including local volunteers in delivering the project or contributing towards the project aims. It could look like one or more of the examples below:

• Improving access to and enjoyment of rivers, lakes, wetlands for recreation or leisure
• Supporting people’s mental health through guided walks or other activities in water environments
• Supporting marginalised and/or vulnerable groups to access their local natural water environment
• Creating opportunities to increase knowledge of the natural water environment
• Providing education about how to improve water quality and conserve scarce water resources through sustainable practices
• Providing training and employment opportunities to upskill individuals eg in habitat management or leading learning activities
• Creating volunteering opportunities, including habitat management, leading walks and talks, or environmental stewardship

The community or social benefits must be delivered as part of a wider project which meets the environmental improvement criteria outlined above.

The fund will cover:

• Habitat creation and restoration
• Species conservation
• Capital work and equipment costs, providing the capital items will address the priorities of the fund, and are linked to the improvement of the natural water environment
• Continuation of projects that are proving to work well (but see below for projects previously funded by Anglian Water)
• Staffing, salary and overhead costs (core costs) where directly related to the delivery of the project
• Interpretation, as a small proportion of a wider project
• Materials or equipment needed to deliver the project
• Reasonable travel expenses

The fund will not cover:

• Infrastructure or facilities which do not benefit the natural environment, including boreholes and irrigation of sports pitches
• Staffing, salary and overhead costs (core costs) where NOT directly related to the delivery of the project
• Projects that do not directly benefit people or environments in the Anglian Water region (see the maps below to check if your area qualifies)
• Projects which have previously received substantial amounts from Anglian Water for the same or similar work
• Match funding for other Anglian Water programmes (ie it can’t be used to match fund A-WINEP projects)
• Events, parties, trips and initiatives based upon mass gatherings
• Land purchase will not generally be supported but may be considered in certain circumstances: please contact us if you have a specific case in mind
• Surveys, except as a small proportion of a wider project (for example, when a project requires a protected species survey in order to comply with the law)
• Interpretation-only projects
• Legal fees
• Planning and design fees
• SuDS on private sites or in locations accessed by fee-paying visitors/users

For more information about in/eligible project costs more generally, please see our application guidance.

Making an application

Grants between £5,000 and £100,000 are available.

• Applications of £5,000 – £50,000 can submit a single stage application using the link below. Deadline: 11:59am (ie midday) on 1st May 2026
• Applications for grants over £50,000 must complete an Expression of Interest (EOI) form below. Deadline: 11:59am (ie midday) on 8th June 2026.

Successful applicants at EOI stage will receive an invitation to submit a full online application.

Please bear in mind that if you are invited to submit a full application you will be asked to provide evidence of the project’s viability. The following list is not exhaustive but for example you may need:

• • Land ownership details, leases or management agreements and formal permission from landowners
  • Letters of support from community organisations and statutory agencies/advisory bodies
  • Evidence of formal consultation if applicable, or description of what consultation will be needed and timelines
  • Licences, planning permission etc or evidence of progress towards obtaining such
  • Maps/plans showing where work will take place and details of proposed changes
  • Impact assessment, environmental statement and similar, if applicable
  • Evidence of other funding secured, or progress towards securing other funding, to enable the project to go ahead
  • Timetable and any key factors which will need to be taken into account such as nesting season or optimum season for works to take place
  • Procurement plans outlining how contracts will be awarded

About the funder

Anglian Water is the largest water and water recycling company in England and Wales by geographic area. The company employs over 4,000 people and supplies water and water recycling services to more than six million domestic and business customers in the East of England and Hartlepool.

Anglian Water is committed to protecting and enhancing the species and habitats on its sites and across the region. As part of this commitment, the company has set up the Anglian Water Thriving Communities Fund to make grants to support projects that directly conserve wetland habitats and species.

If you require other variations of the Foundation’s logos, please refer to the application guidance for more options. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, please email info@cambscf.org.uk