Derbyshire community organisations invited to become smoke-free with new grant programme (Deadline: 26th June)

Image by G.C. from Pixabay

Local voluntary organisations in Derbyshire are being encouraged to apply for grants of up to £1.000 to become smoke-free spaces as part of the county’s ambition to become smoke free by 2030.

Derbyshire County Council is launching a new grant scheme for voluntary, community, faith and social enterprise organisations to apply for up to £1000 to help create and promote smoke-free spaces. The scheme has been created using £90,000 of Government stop smoking funding and is open for applications until the deadline of Friday 26th June 2026.

Derbyshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities and Safety, Councillor Dan Price said: “Community venues are trusted places where people support each other every day. Supporting smoke-free spaces isn’t about telling people what to do – it’s about reducing harm, protecting others, and making it easier for individuals who want to quit to get the help they need. This grant scheme will help to improve health in our communities for the long term.”

Tobacco smoking is still the biggest cause of preventable illness and early death in Derbyshire and is responsible for around 1,000 deaths each year across the county. Evidence shows that most people who smoke start before the age of 20, wish they had never started and more than half want to quit.

If successful in their application, local voluntary organisations could receive £1,000 to help them achieve the following:

• create outdoor smoke-free spaces
• recruit “champions” that signpost individuals to support to help them quit smoking
• share information about the free stop smoking support offered by Live Life Better Derbyshire
• promote making their site smoke-free

Increasing the number of smoke-free spaces along with recruiting smoke free champions will have several benefits including protecting children, young people and vulnerable adults from second-hand smoke and supporting more people who want to quit.

People are three times more likely to quit when they receive support than those that try on their own and Derbyshire’s Stop Smoking service, provided, by Live Life Better Derbyshire, will work alongside grant recipients to ensure people who want to quit can access the free support available.

The new smoke free spaces grant scheme is being administered by Derbyshire Voluntary Action on behalf of the Derbyshire County Council.

Organisations should read the Smokefree Community Grant guidelines before applying to check they are eligible. To view this and for more information on how to apply, and on the grant process click here: SmokeFree Grants – dva.org.uk.