United Utilities sets up grants to spark regional groups to boost local river catchments

United Utilities has launched a new scheme aimed at encouraging partnerships and community groups across the North West region to improve their local river catchment with grants of up to £50,000 available.

The grants will be part of United Utilities’ Catchment Systems Thinking (CaST) approach which, according to the company, looks at a river catchment as an entire system rather than a series of isolated issues.

United Utilities’ environment director, Jo Harrison, said: “Through this approach we will utilise natural capital decision making to enable us to consider balancing the requirements for water resources, flooding, water quality and biodiversity. This in turn will allow us to provide greater benefits to customers through delivering wider environmental improvements, as well as making us more efficient through delivering work in partnership with others.”

United Utilities said it wants grant applications to demonstrate:

• engagement with nature with ability to demonstrate a social element such as community engagement in delivery or an educational focus; and

• promotion of natural capital markets: – ability to demonstrate engagement of commercial interests in some of their funding and/or using markets to bring together potential funders of interventions with those who can deliver them.

The closing date for applications is 16 April 2021.