Nature-based Discovery (NbS) Fund
NbS Discovery Fund aims to support the development of projects that address water challenges in the river catchments of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire
The Norfolk Nature-based Discovery Fund is a feasibility‑stage funding programme designed to accelerate the development of nature‑based solutions (NbS) projects across Anglian Water’s Advanced‑Water Industry National Environment Programme (WINEP) area, not just Norfolk.
The fund provides grants of up to £24,000 to help landowners, farmers, non-governement organisations and other groups take early‑stage NbS concepts through the essential groundwork needed to become “shovel‑ready”.
Eligible activities include landowner engagement, baseline and specialist surveys, design and costings, permitting work (e.g., ordinary watercourse consents, flood risk activity permits, planning, and monitoring equipment.
Projects must sit within the Advanced‑WINEP catchments and deliver benefits for water resources and/or water quality, with wider biodiversity, flood mitigation and LNRS alignment treated as secondary benefits.
It is intended to build a pipeline of high‑quality NbS projects that can later secure delivery funding through mechanisms such as Anglian Water’s Catchment Regeneration Fund.