DLUHC has published a new prospectus for the Community Ownership Fund ahead of round 2 of the fund opening in June. The £150m Fund helps communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure.
From July 2021, community groups have been able to bid for up to £250k matched-funding to help them buy or take over local community assets at risk of being lost, to run as community-owned businesses. In exceptional cases, up to £1m matched-funding is available to help establish a community-owned sports club or help buy a sports ground at risk of being lost without community intervention.
DLUHC has today published an updated prospectus ahead of the fund opening for Expression of Interest (EOI) applications to round 2 on 10 June.
DLUHC has made some changes to the eligibility requirements and application process for the fund having learnt lessons from the review of the first bidding round. These changes will be explained in the updated Community Ownership Fund prospectus. Further supporting guidance will be published once the fund has opened for full applications later in June.
In order to promote the fund and to explain to any prospective applicants what is required in order to submit a strong bid, DLUHC officials will be hosting webinars on 8 and 16 June.
Any groups who would be interested in attending see the link to the form below so that DLUHC can forward on an invite. DLUHC will also be making a recording of the event for those unable to attend a webinar, which can be sent on request using the same form.
Announcement:
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/eligibility-for-community-ownership-fund-expanded
Prospectus:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus
Webinar Registration Form:
https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=EGg0v32c3kOociSi7zmVqLXwFDTckQdPuyZtS-lNwH5UMFRUNTlMWEcyQzBNNUxRNkpSMVZONElOOC4u
More information:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/new-levelling-up-and-community-investments
