Community Ownership Fund Opens
The Community Ownership Fund will open for Expressions of Interest on 10 June 2022.
Voluntary and community organisations can bid for up to £250,000 capital match funding to purchase and/or renovate community assets – exceptional sports facilities have a higher limit of up to £1 million match funding – together with up to £50,000 revenue funding. Proposals will need to prove the value of the asset to local people and that the asset can run sustainably for the long-term benefit of the community.
There have been some changes to the eligibility requirements and application process following a review of the first bidding rounds. Key points are:
- two-stage application process;
- an “always open” Expression of Interest (EOI) stage, where applicants will complete a short form to check if their project is likely to be eligible and receive a quick outcome on their proposals before submitting a full application.
- there will be “bidding windows” for full applications, the first of which will close at 12pm on 19 August 2022. There will be two more bidding windows before March 2023.
- unincorporated organisations can apply at the EOI stage, but they must be an eligible organisation (ie incorporated) before making a full application.
- at least 15-year leases and reasonable break clauses will be considered, although 25-year leases are still preferable
- assets must have evidence of some past community use (they have removed the requirement for this to have been within the past 5 years)
- revenue funding doesn’t need to be matched, and up to 20% of the total capital funding can be applied for. This can fund pre-acquisition support (eg feasibility studies, professional services and business support in establishing the asset) and/or post-acquisition support (to manage cash flow in the first year of operation).
- up to two full application attempts are permitted
- funded projects will have 12 months to complete (previously it was 6 months)
- development support will be available but the provider isn’t in place yet.
In order to promote the fund and to explain to any prospective applicants what is required in order to submit a strong bid, officials at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities will be hosting a webinar on Thursday 16 June 11am to 12 noon. If you are unable to attend a webinar, a recording of the event can be sent to you.