London Community Energy Fund 2026–2027: Up to £3,000 for Project Development Costs

London Community Energy Fund 2026–2027: Up to £3,000 for Project Development Costs

The Greater London Authority (GLA) has opened stream three, the development fund, in phase nine of the London Community Energy Fund (LCEF). This stream provides grants of up to £3,000 for small external costs that help a London community energy project move towards delivery. Its dedicated budget is £100,000. The fund is accepting applications in rolling rounds during the 2026–27 funding period, subject to the remaining budget. This is an open opportunity, not a historical listing.

The 30 September 2026 deadline sometimes shown in LCEF summaries belongs to streams one and two, whose application period has closed. It is not the stream-three deadline. City Hall says stream three runs through rolling application rounds and that its final scheduled round closes on 30 September 2027. A separate date discrepancy remains in the dedicated prospectus: its summary panel gives 31 January 2027, while the upload instruction and detailed round schedule give 30 September 2027. The current overview repeats the September date. Check the live stream-three page and the closing date for the round you intend to enter before applying.

Key details

What stream three pays for

The development fund is intended for small but important external costs that stand between a community energy project and its next practical step. The official examples include distribution network operator (DNO) connection fees, legal work on leases, licences and power purchase agreements, planning application costs, structural surveys, and specialist professional or technical services. The overview also allows other reasonable external development costs connected to the project.

Describe the cost as a defined piece of work with a result the project can use. A network fee might help establish whether a site can connect and what technical conditions apply. A survey can answer whether a roof or other site is suitable for proposed equipment. Legal support may produce an agreement needed to secure a site or sell power. Planning advice or application work can identify the route to permission and provide documents for a submission. Name the supplier task, the work product, the uncertainty it resolves, and the decision or milestone that follows.

This fund is not a general contribution to an organisation’s routine running costs. It is for external development work linked to a community energy project. The application needs to make the link between the proposed expense and the project clear; general professional fees without a stated output or project purpose will be harder to assess. Do not include a cost that another grant or support programme has already paid for. The guidance says costs must be reasonable, supported by evidence, relevant to the project, and necessary for progress towards delivery.

Award size, rounds and timing

The maximum request is £3,000. The GLA has allocated £100,000 to stream three within the wider £1.3 million available across phase nine. Its overview describes 13 rounds with application windows opening every four weeks. The dedicated prospectus provides a table of cutoff, assessment and expected decision dates; unused money carries forward and increases the cumulative amount available in later rounds.

The first scheduled stream-three cutoff is 29 October 2026. Later rounds follow at roughly four-week intervals, with the final scheduled cutoff listed as 30 September 2027. The program overview describes the process as rolling and says stream three is open until that final date. For that reason the deadline metadata on this page is recorded as “rolling”; the individual round cutoffs still matter for when an application will be considered. Confirm the live schedule and available budget before relying on a particular date.

The dedicated prospectus contains an inconsistency: its summary panel lists 31 January 2027 at 11.59pm as the stream-three application deadline, but its detailed upload instruction and round table extend through 30 September 2027. The current LCEF overview also gives 30 September 2027 as the final round cutoff. Since the published material does not align, applicants should use the live stream-three application instructions and contact the Community Energy team if the discrepancy could affect their timing.

Assessment happens in waves. The prospectus says decisions are normally communicated within two weeks of assessment; the current general overview says applicants will hear within three weeks. Treat both as published estimates, allow for the longer period when planning, and rely on the GLA’s direct notice for an individual decision. The availability of a grant depends on eligibility, assessment and the budget remaining when the relevant round is considered; the maximum award is not guaranteed.

Who can apply

The fund targets small organisations with charitable aims operating in London. The GLA welcomes groups that have not previously worked on energy projects and says applicants do not have to be energy or environmental organisations. Types of organisation encouraged by the fund include registered charities, community and voluntary groups, co-operatives, faith and equalities groups, social enterprises, community interest companies, community benefit societies, tenants’ and residents’ associations, tenant management organisations, housing associations, and schools working with community groups.

The project still needs to be a community energy project in London. A new applicant should explain what local asset or community is involved, who is expected to benefit, what energy opportunity or barrier the project addresses, and how the requested external service will help it progress. If the organisation is not an obvious fit for the listed examples, City Hall invites it to contact [email protected] to discuss the proposal.

Do not apply stream-one or stream-two rules indiscriminately to this stream. Those streams fund feasibility and delivery work through separate application materials and had a separate 30 September 2026 deadline. Stream three has its own prospectus, EOI and application form. The current general LCEF page describes its eligible stream-three audience as small London organisations with charitable aims, including groups new to community energy.

Evidence to prepare

The application should let an assessor understand the work and its cost without having to infer what the project needs. The prospectus says applicants may be asked for quotations, invoices, fee schedules, professional estimates or other evidence supporting the proposed costs. Provide the clearest available price evidence and itemise a request that contains more than one service. If the price is an estimate, explain its basis and include relevant supplier information or correspondence.

Explain why the service is needed now, how it advances the community energy project, and why the requested amount represents reasonable value. The assessment criteria ask whether the activity is eligible, whether it will move the project towards delivery, whether costs are evidenced and reasonable, and whether the applicant has shown that support is required and appropriate. The prospectus says an application marked “No” on any criterion is ineligible.

The fund also asks applicants to consider alternative funding and show that the activity has not already been funded elsewhere. State which options were considered and why they cannot meet this particular cost. Explain the likely practical consequence without the grant: a site decision may be delayed, a planning submission may not be ready, a connection route may remain unknown, or the project may need to reduce scope or stop. Tie that consequence to the output the supplier will provide.

Prepare a short delivery sequence: what has already been done, what question remains, what external task will answer it, what the project will decide when it receives the result, and what milestone follows. This makes it easier to judge whether the expense is proportionate and whether it supports a credible route towards delivery. The grant is for project development rather than a substitute for describing the project itself.

How to apply

First read the stream-three prospectus linked from London City Hall. Then complete the dedicated stream-three expression of interest. The EOI is required to access the application pack; when it is submitted, a confirmation page provides download links and the GLA also emails them. The pack includes a Microsoft Word application form for the development fund and the LCEF Savings Estimator in Microsoft Excel. City Hall asks applicants to register for the EOI as early as possible and no later than 20 September 2027.

Complete the stream-three form, prepare the estimator and supporting evidence, and submit the materials through GLA-OPS in line with the live instructions and round cutoff. The prospectus says to upload the application form as a Word document with the estimator and accompanying documentation. Use the dedicated stream-three form; the forms for feasibility and delivery are for separate streams. Allow time to arrange access to GLA-OPS and resolve upload or account issues before the cutoff for the round you are targeting.

In the form, describe the applicant and its London connection, the community energy project and its current stage, the external work requested, the supplier’s deliverable, and the next project step that depends on that work. Include the cost breakdown and supporting quote or estimate. Address value for money, need, alternatives, and the possibility of duplicate support. Keep the contact details current and check email for questions or the outcome after assessment.

Do not assume the final cutoff means each application will be assessed immediately on receipt. The fund uses scheduled waves. Submitting in time for a round places the request into the assessment process, but the GLA still checks eligibility and available funds. If the budget, a cutoff, or an application between listed rounds is unclear, ask the Community Energy team before incurring expense or relying on an award.

After an award

If the GLA approves support, follow the grant offer and use the award for the approved purpose. Keep the application, quotes, invoices, receipts and correspondence together so that the organisation can show what work was funded and what it cost. Contact the GLA before changing the scope or assuming that a different expense can be substituted. Complete funded stream-three projects by 31 December 2027, the project completion date stated in the dedicated prospectus.

Before applying, distinguish the grant’s development task from later feasibility or installation work. For example, a survey or legal agreement may unlock a later stage, but the stream-three request should name and cost the external development task itself. Make the relationship to the wider project understandable while keeping the requested amount focused on eligible external work.

Frequently asked questions

Is the fund open?

Yes. The current LCEF overview says stream three is open in rolling application rounds. Applications run through scheduled windows, and funding remains subject to the £100,000 stream budget and eligibility assessment.

What is the maximum request?

Up to £3,000 per application. The total dedicated budget for stream three is £100,000.

Must an applicant already be an energy organisation?

No. The GLA welcomes small organisations with charitable aims operating in London, including community groups that are new to energy work. The proposal must still support a community energy project in London.

What can the grant cover?

Examples include grid connection fees, legal work on leases, licences or power purchase agreements, planning application costs, structural surveys, and specialist external technical or professional services. Each cost should be reasonable, evidenced, needed for project progress and not already funded through another grant or support programme.

Which deadline should applicants use?

Stream three has rolling rounds. The detailed table lists the first cutoff as 29 October 2026 and the final scheduled cutoff as 30 September 2027. The prospectus summary panel separately says 31 January 2027, creating an official discrepancy. Check the current round instructions and contact the GLA if the conflicting final dates affect your application.

When must a funded project finish?

The dedicated stream-three prospectus says all funded projects must be completed by 31 December 2027. Confirm any project-specific conditions in the grant offer.

Official sources

The London City Hall stream-three prospectus provides stream-specific rules, cost guidance, assessment criteria and the application-round schedule. Its summary panel and detailed deadline information conflict, so compare it with the current LCEF overview, which says stream three is open in rolling rounds through 30 September 2027. The stream-three expression-of-interest page explains how applicants obtain the application pack and gives the EOI registration date. The phase-nine streams one and two prospectus concerns separate streams and their closed September 2026 application window.