Guidance for applicants
What is the Accessibility Grant
As a result of the development of the Woodsmith Mine near Whitby, a s106 agreement has been secured to provide compensation and mitigation against any negative impacts on the tourism economy of the North York Moors. One of these contributions is a fund to support local tourism business to become more accessible to all guests who wish to enjoy the North York Moors and its special qualities.
Used in conjunction with VisitEngland’s Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses, our accessibility grant scheme is there to help micro, small and medium tourism businesses make small improvements to your offering, to start your journey towards a more inclusive business meeting the needs of disabled visitors.
The Authority’s Accessibility grant is also available to community groups to facilitate the use of their toilets by tourists (free of charge) in rural areas without council owned public toilets.
Subject to approval, a grant of up to £1,000 towards the cost of accessibility improvements is available to all businesses and community groups in the North York Moors, Coast & Hills LEADER boundaries
Priority will be given to applicants actively participating the North York Moors Tourism Network. If your project is large and requires more financial support, funding could be considered via the Local Businesses Tourism Contribution, however match funding would be required.
What kind of project does the contribution support?
Projects must:
- Be located in the North York Moors, Coast & Hills LEADER boundaries 2008 – 2013
- Any planning permissions or listed buildings consent must have been approved prior to submitting the application
- Must not disturb vulnerable or protected wildlife
- Demonstrate that it benefits health and wellbeing for visitors in line with the North York Moors National Park’s Management Plan.
Any concerns or queries can be discussed with Sharron Sumner in advance of applying.
Eligibility
The North York Moors Tourism Network[1] is working with businesses to find new ways for visitors to appreciate the North York Moors, by creating bookable experiences and activities, and developing new packages and ways to generate more revenue. Therefore priority will be given to those that have joined and are actively participating in the North York Moors Tourism Network.
The contribution is open to individuals, businesses, and other organisations.
Applicants need not be located within the National Park boundaries. Provided that the criteria above are met, and you can demonstrate clear links to the North York Moors and that your project will have a positive impact upon the National Park, the eligible area will be activity that takes place within the North York Moors, Coast & Hills LEADER boundaries
Work must be completed by 01 April 2025.
Projects must ensure value for money, see quotes information below.
The funding cannot support repeat activity and should not be considered as long term or core funding.
No funding can be awarded retrospectively so you should ensure no activity commences prior to the funding agreement being signed.
In general, awards will not exceed £1,000, however if you are undertaking a large or very comprehensive project, grants of up to £10,000 are available through our Local Businesses Tourism Contribution grant (this specific grant requires match funding please refer to the information document for the scheme hosted on our website).
What kind of project does the funding support?
Listed below are some suggestions from previous successful applications, however, please refer to VisitEngland’s Accessible and Inclusive Tourism Toolkit for Businesses for more information on how to make your business more accessible for disabled tourists:
- Upgrades to car parks to facilitate more disabled parking
- Installation of handrails
- Provision of step free access and ramps
- Hearing/induction loops
- Magnifiers, ear defenders or tactile maps
- Electric hoists
- Wheelchair accessible picnic tables.
- One off contribution towards community toilet facilities being made available for use by the public in tourism areas; priority will be given to disabled toilets.
Ineligible costs
You cannot apply for the following:
- Vehicles
- Standard bikes for hire but e-bikes are eligible, where they will serve markets not currently catered for and applicants must maintain that level of service for a minimum of three years
- Annual core marketing costs e.g. membership fees
- Planning fees
- Salaries
- Ongoing and normal operational/running costs
- Reprints of existing promotional literature or simple website upgrades
- VAT if you are VAT registered, as it is expected that you will be able to reclaim the VAT on purchases made. Therefore, exclude VAT from the costs in the budget. If you are not able to reclaim VAT, then it represents a true cost to you and should be included in the costs
- Utility costs, e.g. we will not fund costs towards groundworks for utility costs such as electricity and gas
- Retail spaces – we will only consider retail sites when there is a strong link to the visitor economy
Application process
In the first instance, please contact our Community Engagement Officer for an informal discussion about your application.
If your project is eligible, you will be sent an application form to complete and return with relevant quotes for work, as detailed within the next section.
It is a competitive assessment process and all eligible projects will be assessed by National Park Authority Officers and verified by the Director of Conservation and Climate Change.
Applications will be considered throughout the year. However, applications will be dealt with on a first come first served basis and, as the contribution fund is limited, you are strongly advised to submit your form as early as possible.
Assuming that the application is complete upon submission, the Authority will contact you within a month of submission to let you know if you have been successful in obtaining a contribution to your project and the level of funding offered. The decision of the Authority is final and therefore applicants will not have a right of appeal on this decision.
Quotes
You must get at least one quote for every element of the project.
Please submit all quotes and other paperwork when sending your completed application form.
Permissions
Please ensure that your project has all the permissions required. These may be from the landowner, Planning Authority (inc. Listed Buildings Consent), Natural England, Environment Agency, Highways Authority, Building Regulations, Church Diocese and Historic England etc.
Successful projects
Successful applicants will be sent an agreement to sign detailing the terms and conditions of the contribution. Once the agreement has been signed and then countersigned by the Director of Conservation and Climate Change at the North York Moors National Park, the grant will be released into your nominated bank account.
All applicants must send evidence of the completed project in the form of images. Where an unforeseen alteration is required to the Agreement e.g. additional costs or a change to the planned expenditure are to be incurred, the National Park Authority will need to review the situation and any amendments to the Agreement will need to be agreed in writing.
Acknowledgement of funding
All projects that receive funding are required to acknowledge the support of the North York Moors National Park Authority by including the appropriate logo on all materials produced.
When approving proofs with your design agencies, you are also required to provide the Authority with a copy of the proof to sign off that the logo has been correctly applied.
Download the Accessibility Grant Application Form
Contact details
Community Engagement Officer, North York Moors National Park Authority, The Old Vicarage, Bondgate, Helmsley, York YO62 5BP