Maggie Throup OBE MP, Member of Parliament for Erewash is urging local community and voluntary groups to consider applying to Round Four Window One of The Community Ownership Fund.
The Community Ownership Fund is a £150 million of Government funding provided to community groups across the country to help them take ownership of assets which are at risk of being lost. Round Four is the final round of the Community Ownership Fund. There will be two bidding windows to allocate remaining funding.
Maggie said:
Whether it’s a local pub facing closure, a community centre needing to be rebuilt or theatres and sport facilities requiring an upgrade, I am urging Erewash community and voluntary groups, seeking to secure ownership of local places, to consider applying to Round Four Window One of The Community Ownership Fund. The Community Ownership Fund is about restoring pride in the places people call home.
Erewash organisations should consider applying for this window of funding as I have been reliably informed by Government Ministers that Window Two is likely to be extremely competitive - so please don’t wait and apply to Round Four Window One as soon as possible.”
The Fund supports projects which fulfil one or a combination of the following aims:
- take ownership of a physical community asset at risk, such as land and buildings, which benefit local people
- renovate, repair, or refurbish an asset to make it sustainable for the long term
- set up or buy a community business
- buy associated stock, collections, or intellectual property
- move a community asset to a new, more appropriate location within the same community.
- develop new assets where these relate to saving, preserving, or relocating a past or existing asset
Before applying to the Community Ownership Fund, an organisation must first submit an expression of interest. Applicants will then receive an email outlining whether their organisation is suitable for funding. Details of how to apply can be found by clicking this link.
Round Four Window One of the Community Ownership Fund closes on 10 April 2024. Round Four Window Two will open in late May. Specific timings for the final window will be published in due course.