Community Ownership Fund

Jacob Young Excerpts

Monday 25th March 2024 Written Statements

[The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (Jacob Young)]

I am delighted to announce the outcome of round 3 window 3 of the £150 million community ownership fund, which will see over £33.5 million awarded to 83 projects across the United Kingdom. This additional funding takes our funding total to around £103.1 million for 333 projects.

This investment will ensure that important parts of our social fabric, such as pubs, sports clubs, theatres, and post office buildings, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK.

The community ownership fund is helping to reduce geographical disparities across the United Kingdom. To this end, the funding provided in round 3 window 3 will see over £3.8 million awarded to projects in Scotland, over £3.1 million to Wales and over £2.8 million to Northern Ireland. This, so far, brings the total funding awarded across Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland to over £32.1 million collectively, with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland having exceeded their minimum allocation across the duration of the fund.

The funding provided in round 3 window 3 will also see over £23.6 million awarded to projects in England. This brings the total funding awarded across English regions to over £70.9 million collectively.

The community ownership fund is already supporting 250 projects across the UK such as Keighley & Worth Valley Railway’s historic railway bridge, in Bradford, England; the Vale of Aeron pub, a favourite haunt of the poet Dylan Thomas in Ceredigion, Wales; the King’s Theatre in Edinburgh, one of Scotland’s most historic and significant theatres; and Glens digital hub in Causeway Coast and Glens, Northern Ireland, which has been transformed into a vibrant community digital hub. These projects are making a genuine difference to their communities.

With the additional investment awarded in this bidding window, I am delighted to be supporting many more small but mighty local assets across the United Kingdom, levelling up the places we love and cherish.

Round 4 will be the final round of the Community Ownership Fund. Recognising that there is limited funding available yet to be allocated to meet the high demand we have experienced, we will seek to hold two final bidding windows to allocate this funding. Round 4 window 1 will open today—25 March 2024—and close on 10 April 2024. Voluntary and community organisations, and parish, town and community councils can apply for up to £2 million in capital funding, to rescue treasured local institutions.

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