Better Youth Spaces

Better Youth Spaces is open to applications now. 

Applications that include refurbishment will have a short, fixed window to apply which will close at midnight on Sunday 31st August.  

The application window for all other applications will close at midnight on Sunday 21st September. 

Please note the fund could close earlier if it is heavily oversubscribed. 

All evidence of eligible expenditure to make grant claims must be submitted to SIB by 30th January 2026 or earlier (we will agree the exact date with individual grantees).

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:  

• Improving the reach of activities provided.  
• Improving the safety of existing youth facilities.  
• Improve the youth sector’s capacity and quality to deliver a range of enrichment activities.  
• 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 their provision for children/ young people aged up to 18, and a significant proportion of that provision 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. You can read the full DCMS methodology here. 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 / vehicle being purchased will primarily be stored that must be located in an eligible postcode. 

Sign up to our webinar

We will also be hosting a second Webinar on Wednesday, 13th August at 12pm. It will last for around an hour and cover more about how the funding works, the application process, and particularly cover questions around refurbishment projects. There will be time for Q&A.

Due to the very tight timelines to deliver this fund, this is a single stage grant application, and we need to ask for all information upfront with the application form – therefore the application form will take some time to complete.  

Before you start the form, we strongly recommend you: 

• Carefully read the detailed Application Form Guidance and list of Eligible & Ineligible Expenditure (see below),  
• Collect together all the required documents (listed below), and  
• Then start the online application form. 

This will make completing the form a lot quicker and easier. If you have done this and have all required information to hand and ready to upload, the form will take at least one hour to complete.  

If you don’t include all of the requested information with your application, you include ineligible items of spend or what you are applying for doesn’t appear feasible within the fund timelines, your application (or part of it) might be rejected. 

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 organisations that:  

Are set up as:  

• 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; or 
• Community Benefit Societies. 

• Are working with children and young people, with at least 50% of their provision  being for children/ young people aged up to 18; and a significant proportion of the offering being 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);  
• Are applying for a project/s that meets at least one of the fund objectives; 
• 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 their own resources (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 activities are not eligible: 

• Schools and Parent Teacher Associations, Colleges, Multi-Academy Trusts, Universities and Student Unions or any organisations focused on the enhancement of service provision by schools, colleges, multi-academy trusts or universities. 
• Hospitals 
• Companies Limited by Shares  
• The grant cannot be used to promote/ further religion. 

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, vehicle and refurbishment costs. 
• Individual items of equipment must be £2,000 or greater in value. 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 eligible. 
• 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. 
• Grants will be paid in one single payment. However, in some exceptional cases, multiple payments (still in arrears) may be agreed. 
• All evidence of eligible expenditure to make grant claims must be submitted to SIB by 30th January 2026 or earlier (we will agree the exact date with individual grantees). 
• Eligible evidence of spend is a) itemised invoice/s addressed to the applicant organisation, and b) bank statement/s showing the applicant organisation’s payment of the invoice/s. 
• You should bear the above in mind when deciding how much to apply for and should only apply for as much as you can afford to cashflow either in a single payment or in tranches of a maximum of 2-3 payments (tranche payment will be by exception and won’t be agreed for all grantees). 

What can you apply for?

The main principles of what you can apply for are:

• It is classed as eligible 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 is after the date your grant agreement is signed. i.e. we cannot fund costs that you incurred before that date. 
• 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 requests. 

Eligible equipment costs and the £2,000 per item threshold can include: 

• The equipment purchase cost, and 
• Where applicable, all costs necessary to bring the equipment to working condition for its intended use which can include delivery and handling, site preparation, installation, related professional fees for architects and engineers. 

Please ensure you read the BYS Application Form Guidance here and detailed list of BYS 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) or without the right supporting documents will be rejected.

What documentation do I need to supply with my application?

The full application form guidance can be found here.

You must submit one application per site i.e. per building being refurbished, or the building where any equipment/ vehicles will primarily be stored: 

• If any refurbishment/ equipment/ vehicles will take place/ be primarily stored at one site, you must submit one application.  
• If any refurbishment / equipment/ vehicles will take place/ primarily be stored at different sites, you must submit one application per site. 
•  A single application form can include building refurbishment, equipment and vehicle costs provided they are all at the same Site.  
• The total request per site must not exceed £100k and any refurbishment elements must not exceed £50k.  

You must upload the following documents to your application.  

1) Quotes / Website Listings  

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

For Equipment/vehicles we require:  

• Items up to £10k:  1 quote or 1 website listing showing the item/s and the cost of it.  
• Items above £10k:  3 quotes or 3 website listings showing the item/s and the cost of it. 

For Refurbishment we require: 3 quotes for all works 

If you are unable to provide 3 quotes for equipment/ vehicles 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  

Refurbishment applications must provide: 

• 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. This must be in the name of the applicant organisation. 
• Evidence of all relevant permissions/ consents as applicable, which may include (the list is not exhaustive): Building regulations approval, Planning consent, Listed building consent, and Landlord consent (required if you lease the building). 
• A photo of both the building and space being refurbished. 

3) Uniformed groups and Community Benefit Societies – additional documentation  

• Governing document.  
• Most recent set of annual financial accounts (including income and expenditure, and balance sheet – if you have one).  

Frequently Asked Questions

If you’re query isn’t covered in this section, please take a look at our more detailed FAQ’s document below. If it still isn’t covered, please contact our team at BYS@sibgroup.org.uk

How many applications should we submit? 

You must submit one application per site i.e. per building being refurbished, or the building where any equipment/ vehicles will primarily be stored. If any refurbishment/ equipment/ vehicles will take place/ primarily be stored at one site, you must submit one application. If any refurbishment/ equipment/ vehicles will take place/ primarily be stored at different sites, you must submit one application per site. A single application form can include building refurbishment, equipment and vehicle costs provided they are all at the same Site.  

The total request per site must not exceed £100k and any refurbishment elements must not exceed £50k. Each application would need to ensure it meets the eligibility criteria on the website and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. 

Which postcode should we use to check eligibility?  

You should use the postcode of the building/land being refurbished or where the equipment/ vehicle being purchased will primarily be stored. This postcode must be in one of the priority areas to be eligible. Equipment/ vehicles cannot primarily be stored at someone’s home. 

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. You can read the full DCMS methodology here.

What is the definition of 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. 

What should the requirement that 50% of provision needs to be to children and young people be based on? 

An applicant must be working with children and young people, with at least 50% of their provision being for children/ young people aged up to 18; and a significant proportion of the offering 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). This should be based on your regular beneficiaries of the site (refurbishment projects) or the service (equipment/ vehicle projects) you are applying for. 

What is the definition of ‘youth facilities’? 

A site (which can be a building, land or mobile unit) where the primary aim is providing provision for children/young people up to the ages of 18 (or 25 where the young people have special educational needs or disabilities, are leaving care, or considered ‘at risk’ or vulnerable). 

What is the definition of ‘at risk’ or ‘vulnerable’ young people aged up to 25? 

We would consider groups such as those experiencing homelessness, victims of domestic violence or leaving care as ‘at risk’ or ‘vulnerable’. This is not an exhaustive list, and we will assess on an individual basis. 

What are enrichment activities? 

‘Enrichment’ involves activities that enhance an individual’s learning by providing greater depth or opportunities to apply knowledge or skills in real-world or practical settings, including teaching knowledge and skills such as fostering critical thinking and problem solving, or stimulating emotional, and social growth. Enrichment activities encompass a wide range of structured activities and clubs, including (but not limited to) sports, music, art, drama, dance, outdoor/adventure, debating, volunteering, youth groups, business/enterprise and tech/digital. They can also include engaging with culture more widely (e.g. visiting museums, libraries, theatres, galleries). 

What is the difference between refurbishment and equipment costs? 

Applicants must correctly assign refurbishment and equipment costs in their application. 

Equipment = Items that have no permanent connection to the structure of the building, the ground (in the case of land) or the vehicle (in the case of mobile units) and can be removed will be considered equipment. Examples would be pool tables, sofas, computer equipment in a bus, swings or playground equipment not fixed to the ground, fridges or cookers that are not integrated. 

Equipment requests: All individual items of equipment must be £2,000 or greater in value. Multiples of identical (i.e. the exact same) items with a cumulative value of £2,000 or greater purchased in a single transaction are eligible.  

Eligible costs of equipment and the £2,000 per item threshold can include: 

• The equipment purchase cost, and  

• Where applicable, all costs necessary to bring the equipment to working condition for its intended use which can include delivery and handling, site preparation, installation, related professional fees for architects and engineers.     

Refurbishment = Items that have a permanent connection to the structure of the building, the ground (in the case of land) or the vehicle (in the case of mobile units) and cannot be removed will be considered part of refurbishment works. Examples would include integrated cookers, built in storage cupboards, sensory garden items bolted to ground, playground items bolted to ground, accessible ramp attached to the bus etc. 

Refurbishment requests: 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.

What is eligible/ineligible expenditure? 

See the list of eligible/ineligible expenditure at the top of this webpage. 

What is deemed to be “like for like” replacement? 

Like for Like replacement is ineligible.   

Equipment/vehicles/ refurbishments will not be deemed like for like if a) it is not identical AND b) it meets one of the fund objectives i.e. it either improves the reach of activities provided, it improves the safety of existing youth facilities, it improves the youth sector’s capacity and quality to deliver a range of enrichment activities, or it improves the financial sustainability of youth facilities.   

If the replacement equipment/vehicle/ refurbishment is identical or delivers no improvements in these areas versus what it is replacing then it would be deemed to be “like for like” replacement and therefore ineligible.  

What are the grant payment terms? 

All grants will be paid in arrears on receipt and approval of a payment request form and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure. Payment in arrears means you pay for the items we have agreed to fund (as per your grant agreement), you submit a payment request form and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure, and we then pay the grant funds to you.     

All grants will be paid in one single payment. However, in some exceptional cases, multiple payments (still in arrears) may be agreed. If you are unable to fund the full grant in one go (and can evidence this through provision of a bank statement showing insufficient cash in the last month) and it can be completed in the time frames of the fund, we can consider grants payments in tranches (still in arrears) e.g. For a grant of £20k we could look to make 2 x £10k payments, with each £10k grant payment made upon receipt of a payment request form and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure for each £10k tranche. 

You should bear the above in mind when deciding how much to apply for and should only apply for as much as you can afford to cashflow either in a single payment or in tranches of a maximum of 2-3 payments (tranche payment will be by exception and won’t be agreed for all grantees).  

What will we need to provide to claim the grant? 

You will need to submit a payment request form and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure to claim your grant. Evidence of expenditure includes: 

1. An itemised invoice/s addressed to the applicant organisation for each item, and  

1. A bank statement in the name of the applicant organisation showing the invoice/s being paid for.  

All payment requests and suitable evidence of eligible must be submitted to SIB by 30th January 2026 or earlier (we will agree the exact date with individual grantees).  

We cannot make grant payments based solely on you providing itemised invoices from suppliers where these invoices have not yet been paid by you. 

Once a payment request form and evidence of expenditure has been provided, how long does it take for the grant to be paid? 

You will need to allow at least 30 calendar days from submission of your payment request form and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure (invoices and bank statements showing the funds leaving your account) for the payment to be disbursed. You will need to ensure the correct information is received in a timely manner as per the agreed dates set out in the grant agreement. 

What is the process post application? 

When your application is received, we will first check for eligibility. If your application is deemed to be ineligible, you will be notified. If it is deemed to be eligible your application will move to the pool of eligible applications and if prioritised it will be assessed and a decision made on whether to recommend it to the grant panel. The grant panel will meet monthly (possibly more frequently if required) from September to December. We will notify successful/ unsuccessful applicants following each grant panel. Some applicants may not find out whether they have been successful/ unsuccessful until after the last grant panel in December 2025. 

Will you make decisions on a first come, first served basis? How will applications be prioritised?  

Grants will not be awarded on a first come, first served basis. We expect a large volume of applications for this fund and so assessment will be a combination of data led prioritisation and assessments by the team. Applications will be processed in an order according to those that meet the fund priorities most closely. Grant prioritisation/ distribution will aim to reflect the purposes of the fund listed on the website. We will primarily be looking at factors such as youth provision and value for money. We will also try to ensure fair distribution of funding geographically across eligible areas and across different organisation types in the youth sector where possible. 

You say larger/ longer projects will be assessed first – does that mean that smaller/ simpler applications will be delayed? If we apply for a mix of both refurb and equipment does would it be assessed together?  

Larger/ longer project (e.g. refurbishment projects) will be assessed first in order to provide as much time as possible for the projects to spend and evidence the grant – this does not mean you are more likely to be successful for the fund with a refurbishment application. Smaller/ simpler projects (e.g. simple equipment/ vehicle requests) will be assessed shortly after. If you apply for both refurbishment and equipment/ vehicles, all elements will be assessed together. Larger/ longer projects should find out in September/ October whether they have been successful. Smaller/ simpler projects should find out between October – December whether they have been successful. 

What is the process post grant approval? 

If your application is successful, we will email you to outline the provisional offer and to request further information from you e.g. signatory details, bank statement for the account you would like the funds paid into and to agree a payment schedule. We will then carry out our know your customer and due diligence checks. If your organisation passes these checks, we will send you your formal offer letter and grant agreement via DocuSign for electronic signing. Two people from your governing body (e.g. board of directors, trustees) will need to sign promptly on receipt of the DocuSign pack. Once the offer letter and grant agreement has been signed by both SIB and your two signatories, you can spend the grant funds (as per the grant agreement). Once the grant is spent you will need to submit a grant drawdown request and suitable evidence of eligible expenditure by 30th January 2026 or earlier (we will agree the exact date with individual grantees). We will then pay you the grant funds and send you the end of grant monitoring form. 

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.