Landfill Communities Fund celebrates 30 years of local impact

As the Landfill Communities Fund marks its 30th anniversary on 1 October 2026, Cambridgeshire Community Foundation celebrates the projects, partners and volunteers behind its local impact.

For 30 years, the Landfill Communities Fund (LCF) has shown how innovative policy can create lasting local value. By allowing landfill operators to divert a portion of their Landfill Tax liability into community and environmental projects, the scheme has helped reshape local infrastructure across England and Northern Ireland since 1996.

Nationally, the results are striking. The Fund has channelled over £1.7 billion into local community infrastructure and the natural environment, supporting more than 60,000 community, heritage and nature recovery projects.

Here at Cambridgeshire Community Foundation, we are proud to have played our part through the Thalia WB Community Fund. Over the last three decades, we have directed £11.3 million into 430 community spaces, heritage sites and biodiversity initiatives.

Some of those projects include:

installation of cricket nets at Wilburton ‘Rec’ – supporting both local cricket teams and local residents
funding the refurbishment of the Ickleton Lion – an invaluable community hub
supporting the coppicing of Hayley Wood, helping to re-establish rare spring flowers and enhancing visitor experience
funding the urgent repairs to the Tithe Barn in Landbeach, saving this historic building and ensuring it continues to be available to the local community

Thirty years of turning waste tax into community wealth

The scale of impact would not have been possible without the LCF itself: a voluntary government tax credit scheme with a unique grassroots approach and a proven funding distribution mechanism. Just as importantly, it relies on the volunteers on the ground who turn funding into real change for their neighbours and their environment.

The scheme is regulated by Entrust, which reports to HMRC, and it operates at low administrative cost. This means that funding reaches the charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and local authorities that might otherwise have struggled to secure support.

To everyone who has helped turn waste tax into community wealth, thank you. That includes the landfill operators who contribute, the groups who apply, the volunteers who deliver, and everyone who uses and enjoys the spaces created.

Causes supported by the Thalia WB Community Fund

Funding through the Thalia WB Community Fund has meant new cricket nets have been installed, benefiting the communities in the Wilburton area.

Wilburton Parish Council: new cricket nets for “The Rec”

“
Operating within a robust regulatory framework and at low administrative cost, the LCF has provided vital funding to charities, voluntary organisations, community groups and local authorities that would otherwise have struggled to secure support.
”
Simon Settle
Chair, Association of Distributive & Environmental Bodies (ADEB)

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