Better Youth Spaces

Better Youth Spaces will be opening to all applications soon. Applications that include refurbishment will have a short fixed window to apply which will close at midnight on Monday 25th August. The application window for all other applications will close at midnight on Monday 22nd September (please note the fund could close earlier if it is heavily oversubscribed) All grants must be spent, evidenced and paid out by 30th January 2026 or earlier.

What is Better Youth Spaces? 

Better Youth Spaces is £30.5m of capital grants funded by the UK Government and administered by Social Investment Business.  The grant funding is to be used for small scale-capital projects of £5k-£100k, including capital equipment, small refurbishments and other capital projects to help youth organisations to better support the young people they work with. The project must meet at least one of the fund objectives: 

1. Improving the reach of activities provided. 
2. Improving the safety of existing youth facilities. 
3. Improve the youth sector’s capacity and quality to deliver a range of enrichment activities. 
4. Funding priority areas on the basis of youth need. 
5. Improving the financial sustainability of youth facilities.

Who is it for?

Youth organisations in 42 priority areas of England that are not-for-profit, with at least 50% of provision for children/ young people, and a significant proportion must be open access youth provision for children and young people aged 11 to 18 years (or up to 25 years if they have special educational needs or disabilities, are leaving care, or considered ‘at risk’ or vulnerable).  

The 42 priority areas have been selected by the government based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) at upper tier local authority level. DCMS will publish the full methodology used on the day the fund is open for applications. A list of these areas is available in the FAQs, but the easiest and most reliable way to check and ensure eligibility is to use our eligible postcode checker:

Please note: it is the building/land being refurbished or where the equipment being purchased will be stored that must be located in an eligible postcode.

The slides from the webinar can be viewed here.

Am I eligible? 

In addition to the geographic eligibility above we will only consider applications from: 

• Charities registered with the Charity Commission; 
• Not-for-profit companies (including Community Interest Companies (CICs) and Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLGs) with dividend, asset and mission lock) registered with Companies House; 
• Local Authorities (where they provide youth services); 
• Uniformed organisations
• Community Benefit Societies

• Working with children and young people, and at least 50% of provision is for children/ young people; 
• Projects that meet at least one of the fund objectives
• Providing a significant offering of open access youth provision for children and young people aged 11 to 18 years. Where the young people have special educational needs or disabilities, are leaving care, or considered ‘at risk’ or vulnerable, we may fund up to the age of 25 years; 
• Have been actively operating for at least two years and have at least one set of annual financial accounts; 
• Have a bank account in the name of the applicant organisation;  
• Have at least two unrelated governing body directors/ trustees/ committee members. 
• Comply with SIB’s Safeguarding Policy
• Can cash flow the project from own resources (as grants are paid in arrears)
• Can, spend the grant and provide eligible evidence of spend within a 1-4 month timeframe (to be agreed during the grant set up). 

The following sectors, organisations and projects are not eligible for Better Youth Spaces: 

• Schools
• Colleges 
• Universities
• Hospitals
• Multi academy trusts 
• Companies Limited by Shares 
• Any refurbishment work that doesn’t have the appropriate plans, consents and permissions already in place at the time of application.

What grant sizes are available and what are the payment terms?

Grant sizes:

• Minimum of £5,000 and a maximum of £100,000 per site (not per organisation).
• Can include both equipment and refurbishment costs.
• Maximum size of any grant for refurbishment purposes is£50k. Please note that the total refurbishment project must cost £50k or less on a stand-alone basis, and not have dependencies within a larger & higher costs refurbishment or building project.

Payment terms:

• All grants will be paid in arrears on receipt and approval of a payment request form and evidence of eligible spend.
• Payment will be in one single payment. However, in some exceptional cases, multiple payments (still in arrears) may be agreed.
• Grants must be spent, evidenced and paid out by 30^thJanuary 2026 or earlier.

What can you apply for?

The main principles of what you can apply for are:

• It is classed as capital expenditure
• It meets the fund objectives
• It is not for routine maintenance or repair
• It is not for like for like replacement
• The expenditure was after the date on your grant agreement. i.e. not any retrospective costs that were before that.
• It does not include input VAT reclaimable by you from HMRC
• Although the minimum grant size is £5,000, for equipment to be classed as capital and therefore eligible, all equipment items that make up the grant of £5k or more must each be £2,000 or greater in value. Note: multiples of identical (i.e. the exact same) items with a cumulative value of £2,000 or greater purchased in a single transaction are also included as eligible for this. There is no such minimum item or invoice requirement for refurbishment.

Please ensure you read the detailed list of eligible and ineligible expenditure here before applying to the fund as any applications for ineligible expenditure (or the component of the application that is ineligible) will be rejected.

What documentation do I need to supply with my application?

1) Quotes / Website Listings 

In order to demonstrate value for money you will need to provide quotes or website listings. They must all be itemised and dated/ obtained within the last 3 months at the point of application. 

For Equipment: 

(i) Items up to £10k:  1 quote or 1 website listing showing the item and the cost of it. 

(ii) Items above £10k:  3 quotes or 3 website listings showing the item and the cost of it.

For Refurbishment: 3 quotes for all works

If you are unable to provide 3 quotes for equipment items above £10k or for any refurbishment work, we will still accept your application but you will be asked in the application form a) why this has not been possible and b) how you have ensured value for money.  Applications that can demonstrate good value for money may score more highly.

2) Refurbishment applications -additional documentation 

We will not accept applications without:

(i) Evidence of ownership of the building/ land (i.e. Title Deeds) or a lease agreement with a minimum of 2 years to expiry at the point of application 

(ii) A photo of the building and space being refurbished. 

(ii) You must have in place and attach evidence with your application of all relevant permissions/ consents as applicable, which may include (the list is not exhaustive): Building regulations approval , Planning consent, Listed building consent, Landlord consent (required if you lease the building), Other funder consent. 

3) Uniformed groups and Community Benefit Societies -additional documentation 

(i) Governing document. 

(II) Most recent set of annual financial accounts. 

Frequently Asked Questions

If your query isn’t covered in this section, please contact our team at BYS@sibgroup.org.uk

How were the priority areas selected?

The 42 priority areas have been selected by the government based on the Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index (IDACI) at upper tier local authority level. DCMS will publish the full methodology used on the day the fund is open for applications.

What is Open Access Youth Provision?

Open access youth provision is youth work that:

• Happens outside school hours*
• Is not part of formal education or alternative provision
• Is open to all young people—no referral needed**
• Is actively promoted to local young people
• Involves trusted adults who guide, support, and challenge

It can still be open access if:

• There’s a waiting list, as long as anyone can join it
• There’s a registration process, as long as it’s not selective
• It charges a fee, as long as cost isn’t a barrier*There may be exceptions for young people aged 18-25 where they have special educational needs or disabilities, are leaving care, or are considered ‘at risk’ or vulnerable

        **Self-referral is allowed and young people with SEND or physical disabilities may need a parent or carer to help them access provision

How many Directors/ Trustees does an organisation have to have to be considered for this fund?

You must have at least two unrelated governing body directors/ trustees/ committee members to be eligible.

What legal structures will this fund consider for applications?

Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO); Company Limited by Guarantee (with dividend, asset and mission lock); Community Interest Company (CIC) Limited by Guarantee; Community Interest Company (CIC); Local Authority; and Uniformed Groups (e.g. Scouts, Guides etc..) and Community Benefit Societies. We don’t accept applications from Companies Limited by Shares.

I am an unincorporated organisation, can I apply?

We can only accept applications from unincorporated uniformed groups, or unincorporated charities registered with the Charity Commission.

We have recently taken on our building and signed a short-term lease. Are we eligible to apply to your fund?

For refurbishment applications you need to have a formal, written lease and the agreement must have a minimum of 2 years to expiry at the point of application to be eligible. Applications for equipment are not subject to this rule.

As part of the application process will you need to see a copy of our Safeguarding policy?

No, but you do need to comply with SIB’s Safeguarding Policy.

Our youth space is used by children from 0-18 years of age at various times of the week, can we apply to Better Youth Spaces?

Yes you can apply. As part of the application process, we do ask how many hours a week of open access youth provision you currently provide for young people, and also how many hours of support are provided to young people aged 11-18 years. We will be prioritising applications where organisations provide higher levels of support to our key groups & age ranges.

We want to apply to complete a small refurb project, do you require quotes for this work at the time of application or once we know if our application has been successful or not?

Regardless of the amount being requested by an applicant (up to a maximum of £50,000) for small refurbishment projects, we require 3 quotes for all works.
All quotes must be itemised, dated and should have been obtained within the last 3 months at the point of application.
You will need to upload all quotes to the application using the fields provided.
You must also clearly state in your application your chosen quote and the rationale for choosing it. This does not have to be the cheapest, provided you can provide a clear rationale for your chosen quote. If you are unable to provide 3 quotes for equipment items above £10k or for any refurbishment work, we will still accept your application, but you will be asked in the application form a) why this has not been possible and b) how you have ensured value for money.  Applications that can demonstrate good value for money may score more highly.

Will you support applications from organisations who are based in listed buildings?

Yes we will, but you must ensure you have all of the relevant building permissions already in place at the time of application if you are applying for any small refurbishment works (e.g. building regulations, planning consent, listed building consent, landlord consent etc. as applicable). It is your responsibility to ensure you have the consents you need in place, and not having the relevant permissions in place before applying will mean that your grant application/ award will be withdrawn.

Our organisation provides outreach across a number of sites for young people, are we eligible?

When applying for equipment you need to choose the address/ area where equipment/ vehicle(s) will be stored. When applying for refurbishment you need to choose the address/ area of the land/building. The postcode/ area needs to be in an eligible area, alongside your organisation meeting the full eligibility criteria for the fund.

Can I apply for match funding, or part funding for equipment/vehicles or small refurbishment projects?

No, this fund cannot consider part funding or match funding requests due to the timescales for this funding to be spent. Your application must cover the full costs of the work/ equipment.

Our application has been unsuccessful can we reapply to your fund?

No, if your application has been unsuccessful for your site then you cannot reapply to this fund.

I have made an application to your fund already and we are awaiting a decision, but we would like to apply for funding for another project we run on the same site, can we apply again?

No, you can only apply to the fund once per site.

We have 5 different sites we want to apply for, do we have to make 5 separate applications to your fund?

Yes each application is based on one physical site, so in this instance you would need to make 5 separate applications. Each application would need to ensure it met the full eligibility criteria for the fund and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

How long does it take to complete an application to your fund?

Please allow at least 45 minutes to complete our online application form. You do not have to complete your application in one go, and can save and return to your application at a later date.

Can I apply for a combination of equipment and support for a small refurb project?

Yes, you can apply for both equipment and refurb support, up to a combined total amount of £100,000 per site. However the total cost for refurbishment within your application cannot exceed £50,000. For example: You could apply for £50,000 for a small refurbishment project and £40,000 for equipment. Total ask to the fund £90,000.

Can I apply for items/ work including VAT?

Yes, you should claim for any irrecoverable VAT when applying to fund, but you should not include anything that you will be eligible to recover.