Introducing the New Consensual Funding Process for Community Festival and Christmas Event Grants

New Funding Approach for Community Festivals and Christmas Events

The Community Festival Fund and Christmas Events Fund are updating their funding processes as they move to a Consensual Funding model.

There are two processes available:

Headline Events Fund:

Up to £30,000.00. This competitive application process has remained the same.

The usual criteria for a min. £50,000 spend and attracting a min. 1,000 visitors still stand.

Up to £10,000, Large-Scale Local Festivals

Following consultation with the Local Growth Partnership Boards (LGPBs), it was agreed that these larger festivals should continue to be eligible for Council grant aid through this route.

If your organisation plans to deliver a large-scale local festival - one that extends beyond your immediate community and is expected to attract a wider regional or district-level audience, you should apply to the Headline Events Fund. Up to £10,000.

Approximately 29% of the Community Festival Fund budget is allocated to supporting these strategic, large-scale local or community festivals, as they deliver benefits beyond a single neighbourhood.

When applying to the Headline Events Fund (either tier), applicants are advised to carefully review the Scoring Matrix and Guidance Notes, which outline the assessment criteria and clearly explain the evidence required for a successful application.

Closing date for Headline Events and Large Scale Local Events of Scale applications is 12 noon Friday 5th December 2025.

Consensual Funding:

Following our ongoing discussions, and ultimate recent agreement by Council, we are moving from the previous competitive application process to a pilot of a consensual funding approach, modelling the move over the last few years across other Council grant aid programmes.

This new approach aims to strengthen collaboration and ensure that funding allocations reflect shared community priorities, made in partnership with local communities. Community Festivals, primarily focused on your local community/neighbourhood, it would be advisable to liaise directly with your Local Growth Partnership Board, who can provide guidance on support available through the Consensual Funding process that was formerly the competitive Community Festival Fund.

Closing Date: the Consensual process is more flexible and will be discussed when you contact your Local Growth Partnership Board, aiming for December/January 2026 but is dependent on each Local Growth Partnership Board.