Welcome The grant-giving charity for nature in Suffolk.
We are not yet open for applications. Please register your interest.
Welcome The grant-giving charity for nature in Suffolk.
We are not yet open for applications. Please register your interest.
East Suffolk Trust is a brand new independent grant-giving charity.
We will empower local people and organisations to better protect, conserve and enhance wild spaces and landscapes in Suffolk and its immediate surrounding area, with a particular focus on East Suffolk.
We exist to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England
Please reach us at enquiries@eastsuffolktrust.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
East Suffolk Trust is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
East Suffolk Trust has been set up jointly by Sizewell C Limited, East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council (“the founding parties”). They have done this because they believe that urgent action is needed to tackle the very considerable threats posed to our way of life from climate change and the biodiversity crisis, which they regard as being inextricably linked.East Suffolk Trust (EaST) is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
No. It has nothing at all to do with mitigating Sizewell C’s impacts. East Suffolk Trust is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
East Suffolk Trust is an independent charity, governed by its Board of Trustees. The Trustees are responsible for ensuring that it complies with its governing document, called a Constitution, which has been approved by the Charity Commission, as well as complying with charity law.
The Board of Trustees will be joined by a highly experienced Chief Executive Officer (CEO) whose role will be to provide strategic leadership and operational management, working closely with the trustees to achieve the charity's mission. Further details will be published in due course.
East Suffolk Trust’s Board comprises seven highly experienced and independent charity trustees who have been drawn from the local/regional business, charity and academic sectors as follows:
Six of the trustees were appointed by the founding parties which were each entitled to appoint up to two trustees. The six founding trustees are entitled to appoint up to two further trustees.
None. EaST is governed by its Board of Trustees. The three founding parties have no involvement whatsoever beyond appointment of trustees and sitting on an Advisory Committee, amongst other committee members that may be appointed by the charity trustees, whom the trustees may consult in relation to matters upon which they take decisions.East Suffolk Trust (EaST) is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
East Suffolk Trust is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
Sizewell C will provide EaST’s core funding. The Company has made a legally-binding commitment to donate £1.5 million for each year of construction and its initial 20 years of operation. Thereafter funding will be at £0.75 million a year until the end of its operational life. This funding commitment is index-linked to 2022 values.
Sizewell C’s total financial contribution will be £78 million index linked assuming it takes 12 years to construct the power station and it operates for 60 years. If Sizewell operates for 100 years the fund would increase to over £100 million.
East Suffolk Trust will also seek to secure additional third-party funding e.g. from other developers.
It’s guaranteed under a legal agreement called the “Suffolk Environment Charity Deed” that was put in place between Sizewell C Limited, East Suffolk Council and Suffolk County Council (“the founding parties”). This places an obligation on Sizewell C to fund the charity as detailed above.
Wouldn’t that serve nature better? East Suffolk Trust does not and will not compete with existing environmental charities. It is a grant maker and will make grants to support initiatives undertaken by others (e.g. charities, communities, individuals). In other words, it is providing new additional funding that would not otherwise be available, enabling more to be done to re-build the abundance and diversity of nature in Suffolk.
Hugely beneficial. There is no other grant-giving environmental charity anywhere in the UK that is locally focused and has such a large and secure funding stream for such a long period of time (at least 70 years). Its ambition, secure funding stream and longevity will be transformative for nature in Suffolk.East Suffolk Trust (EaST) is a major new environmental grant-giving charity in Suffolk. Its mission is to re-build the abundance and diversity of native plants and animals across the county, and to make East Suffolk the most ecologically diverse and resilient area in England.
No. East Suffolk Trust is a grant-giving charity that will enable others to invest in nature.
East Suffolk Trust will fund eligible initiatives/projects that will promote the conservation, protection, and/or enhancement of the natural environment, including the coastal marine environment and the natural beauty within the National Landscape; and/or the advancement of the education of the public in the conservation, protection and enhancement of the natural environment.
Yes. Funding will be available for marine-based projects that deliver for nature.
No. Grants will be available for projects across Suffolk and its immediate surrounding area. Where projects are co-located in Suffolk and a neighbouring county, it must be predominantly located in Suffolk. Projects that deliver for nature in East Suffolk will be prioritised.
East Suffolk Trust's Board of Trustees expect to open the first grant application window in spring 2026. Further details will be published in due course.
No. However the Board of Trustees reserves an absolute right not to award a grant to an applicant if it so chooses.
Yes. This can be very helpful to projects as it provides security of funding.
Yes. In fact it is very likely that match funding will be encouraged.
East Suffolk Trust will exist for at least as long as Sizewell C does. The power station is expected to generate power for at least 60 years and potentially up to 100 years, well into the next century. Add an answer to this item.
Yes provided the contribution is charitable and meets the mission and objectives of East Suffolk Trust. East Suffolk Trust will not accept any financial contribution that is provided to mitigate environmental impacts.
No. The charity is wholly independent and separate to Sizewell C. This means it is completely separate and unrelated to any mitigation and compensation that Sizewell is required to deliver.
There is no relationship. They are completely separate funds. The Natural Environment Improvement Fund (NEIF) is to mitigate all of Sizewell C’s remaining impacts on landscape and visual amenity, especially in the Suffolk and Essex Coast and Heaths National Landscape and Heritage Coast. NEIF is also a grant-giving endeavour, but it is administered by a separate body, called the “Natural Environment Awards Panel” (NEAP) made up of representatives from East Suffolk District Council, Suffolk County Council, Sizewell C Limited, Natural England and Suffolk and Essex National Landscape Partnership. NEIF’s is a much smaller fund. Its role is to distribute funds to eligible projects of up to £6 million approximately during construction and £3.5 million during the initial 3 years of operation of Sizewell C, at which point the mitigation fund will be wound up. EaST, on the other hand, will exist for as long as Sizewell C does.
Yes, provided they can meet the specific objectives of each fund.
No. East Suffolk Trust is thought to be the first of its kind anywhere in the UK, and possibly the world. Together with Sizewell C’s creation of new nature reserves, it shows how major infrastructure projects can be a force for good for nature, as well as for people and businesses in Suffolk and across the UK. It is hoped that East Suffolk Trust sets a ‘greenprint’ for how large infrastructure projects can be delivered to maximise social and environmental legacy in the communities that host them.
None. All Trustees must act independently and in service of the East Suffolk Trust’s Constitution. In addition, and as with any charitable Trustee (or indeed any corporate non-executive director), declarations of any potential conflict of interest (real or perceived) must always be made. East Suffolk Trust is currently working with Community Action Suffolk to set up a comprehensive governance structure with supporting policies. These will include a Conflict of Interest policy.
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