The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has launched the third round of its £150m Community Ownership Fund, which now allows parish councils to apply for funding alongside charities and community groups.
The fund aims to assist community projects in preserving local assets like sports clubs, music venues, and historic buildings.
In this third round, the maximum amount of funding available to all projects has been raised to £1m, up from £250,000, while the match-funding requirement has been reduced to as low as 10%.
According to Dehenna Davison MP, the Minister for Levelling Up, “these changes will enable community groups to apply for even more funding to safeguard much-loved local assets.”
Cllr Keith Stevens, chair of the National Association of Local Councils, said: ‘The National Association of Local Councils is delighted that England’s local (parish and town) councils will now for the first time be able to apply to the government’s Community Ownership Fund.
‘This vital funding will help local councils, which are the first tier of local government in most areas, continue to work with their communities to protect, enhance and preserve their treasured community assets.’
