The prospectus for the final round of the Community Ownership Fund (COF) has been published. This is a government programme to support community groups to take ownership of assets that are at risk of being lost to the community. The final round (Round 4) will allocate the remaining COF funding through two bidding windows.
The fund supports a range of community ownership projects such as sports facilities, arts and music venues, museums and galleries, parks, pubs, post offices and shops.
For this fund, community ownership refers to the ownership and management of local community assets or amenities by a community organisation in order to deliver benefits for the community and place. To be eligible for investment, the terms of community ownership must be either the ownership of the freehold or a long-term leasehold of at least 15 years.
Funding may support the purchase and/or renovation costs of community assets and amenities that are at risk of loss without community intervention. The Community Ownership Fund will provide up to 50% of total capital costs, matching other funds and resources raised by the applicant. In most cases, the maximum grant will be £250,000 although larger grants (up to £2m) will be available in exceptional circumstances. Revenue grants of up to £50,000 are also available to help with project development.
Communities applying to the fund should have a strong vision for the long-term future of the asset, its purpose and potential in community life, and a plan for how the asset can thrive under community ownership. Projects must therefore be able to deliver the following outcomes:
- protect a community asset that is at risk and preserve its community value
- develop a sustainable operating model to secure the long-term future of the community asset in community ownership
- safeguard the use of community assets
You can apply if your organisation is an incorporated voluntary and community organisation or a parish, town and community council.
Expressions of Interest (EoIs) can be submitted at any time and will need to be approved before you can submit a full application. There will be two more bidding windows for full applications as part of this final round.
Focus of fund/fund aims:
Grants to help community organisations take ownership of assets that are at risk of being lost to the community
Application deadline:
Expressions of Interest may be submitted at any time. The final deadlines for full applications will be announced shortly.
Fund description:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/community-ownership-fund-prospectus