People working in the fishing communities of Hayle and St Ives are now able to apply for financial support.

The Wave Hub Small Grants Fund has been set up to support fishing communities impacted by the Wave Hub being installed at Hayle.

The £150,000 fund is now open for applications, which the panel will consider on a quarterly basis.

The fund's stakeholder panel met on Wednesday this week to re-constitute following the recent local elections, and to consider a number of project applications already submitted.

The panel elected Councillor Andrew Mitchell, local member for St Ives West and Towednack, as its chair.

Cllr Mitchell said: “We are looking forward to using this fund to support local fishing communities in Hayle and St Ives and we welcome project proposals to come forward so the panel can consider them at our next meeting.”

The deadline for applications to be considered for the next round of funding at its September meeting is August 4, 2021.

The group would like to hear from projects and initiatives that help sustain and develop the local fishing industry, and bring benefits for the fishing community as a whole, rather than to individuals who might have been affected by Wave Hub.

Examples of things that the fund could support include: projects to improve the harbours in St Ives and Hayle, maintenance of existing infrastructure, training, projects that support the direct selling of fish and shellfish to local customers, or seed/match funding for larger projects where covering upfront costs is an issue.

Applicants must show how their projects will benefit the fishing communities in Hayle and St. Ives. The panel will also consider applications from other harbours such as Newlyn, but they must show a link to the fishing grounds around the Wave Hub.

More information can be found by searching 'Wave Hub Fisheries Mitigation Fund' on the Cornwall Council website.

The Wave Hub is the world's largest and most advanced open-access site for testing and developing offshore renewable energy technology.

Found 16km offshore from Hayle, it hour cable connection points for testing and is connected to the grid with the capacity to export up to 30mw.