Eighty-five local treasures to be saved and restored
An additional £36 million of funding to rescue and restore 85 local treasures including community centres, pubs, parks and sport centres.
- Government funding will save at least 35 community centres, helping fix the foundations of our communities as part of the Plan for Change
- Money will boost opportunities and help grow local economies, supporting the government’s drive for national renewal
- This will help kickstart economic growth and rebuild Britain in a decade of renewal
Cherished community centres are among the 85 local venues across the UK that are set to receive government support to stay open, helping to fix the foundations of our communities.
An additional £36 million of funding has been provided to back local communities, including the rescue of at least 35 community centres, protecting vital local services, boosting opportunities for working families and supporting local economies.
As set out in its Plan for Change, the government is committed to kickstarting economic growth and raising living standards. Thriving communities lie at the heart of a thriving economy, and the support provided by the Community Ownership Fund will inject funding where it is most needed, making change happen and bringing people together in the process.
The projects will support the government on its path to national renewal, helping realise our regions’ huge potential while creating safer and happier streets by restoring community pride.
Deputy Prime Minister, Angela Rayner said:
“We are delivering on our Plan for Change by saving these vital community assets to provide important opportunities for working people and their families.
“These projects represent what is so special about communities across the UK – bringing people of all ages together, providing vital support and giving them a sense of purpose and belonging.
“Every project will support social causes in the community, keeping widely used services open and thriving to improve people’s health and wellbeing.”
Minister for Local Growth, Alex Norris said:
“These are all multi-functional spaces that do so much for local people and most of us will have fond memories in treasured places like these.
“We’ve prioritised these grants to help preserve and upgrade what these vital places offer to their communities – whether that’s improving access to sport and education, tackling loneliness or boosting family services for parents and children.
“This is just the start of our work to support communities and give them greater control of their assets and we’ll be setting out our full strategy next year.”
Action4Youth, a youth charity in the South East, has been given £300,000 to refurbish the George Amey Centre in Milton Keynes, securing its future as a centre for outdoor education and supporting the charity’s work to tackle knife and gang crime.
Chief Executive of Action4Youth, Jenifer Cameron said:
“We are so grateful to have funding which will enable us to complete our renovation project and to ensure the future of the outdoor centre which benefits 15,000 children and young people each year.
“We can now look forward with optimism and hope to support many more young people in future.”
Nineteen sports clubs and leisure facilities across the country will be saved, including four historic swimming pools. These include the 1960s Portishead Lido in North Somerset - where funding will also be used to renovate the café, supporting the local economy - and one of the last tidal pools left in the country, the Victorian Shoalstone Pool in Devon.
On the Isle of Wight, the Isorropia Foundation will receive more than £1m to purchase and renovate the Medina Valley Centre so it can provide a range of community services including mental health support, training and educational opportunities. And Elmfield Hall in Accrington will be renovated to secure its future as a location for counselling, mentoring and employment courses.
The MacMillan Hub in Edinburgh will be backed with £1.7m so it can continue to promote culture, learning and training opportunities, work and well-being in and around the town centre, and expand its café. And more than £1m will be used to restore the Higher Woodhill Viaduct so the East Lancashire Railway can continue to deliver a heritage railway experience, boosting the local tourism industry in the process.
To tackle loneliness and support rural communities, £3.8 million will go to eight parks and eight pubs, including £300,000 to help buy back a popular village pub in North Yorkshire - The Punch Bowl Inn. £300,000 will also be used to renovate a 200-year-old countryside pub in Gwyned, Wales - Tafarn y Plu. This funding will back local businesses, create jobs and drive growth while restoring community pride.
The government is also developing proposals for delivering on its manifesto commitment to introduce a stronger ‘Right to Buy’ and take over important community assets so they can determine their future in a meaningful way. This will be a genuine shift so local people feel far more control, power and agency in the places they live.
Further information
In Scotland, £5 million will be awarded to 11 projects including over £1.7 million to refurbish and expand a community arts centre in Edinburgh - the MacMillan Hub.
In Northern Ireland, £3.7 million will be awarded to 10 projects including £800,000 to expand the building and outdoor spaces of an autism and additional needs charity in Belfast - Sólás. This will help host more after-school clubs and youth programmes.
In Wales, £2.1 million will be awarded to 7 projects including £400,000 to create a museum for the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, built in 1903 to link farming communities to the town.
In England, almost £25.5 million will be awarded to 57 projects including:
- 11 projects in the South West worth £4.7 million
- 8 projects in the North West worth almost £4.6 million
- 10 projects in the East Midlands worth almost £3.9 million
- 4 projects in London worth almost £3.2 million
- 8 projects in the South East worth almost £3 million
- 6 projects in Yorkshire and the Humber worth almost £2.2 million
- 5 projects in the West Midlands worth over £1.6 million
- 3 projects in the East of England worth over £1.7 million
- 2 projects in the North East worth over £675,256
These projects were applicants to the now closed Community Ownership Fund.
The government has also implemented new High Street Rental Auction regulations, providing local communities and businesses with a right to rent premises that have long sat vacant, casting a cloud over the local area. The power will help to provide new shops and community spaces, supporting businesses and communities to access the high street and create vibrant, bustling spaces they can be proud of.
The government will also support high streets by strengthening Business Improvement Districts which have helped to improve town and city centres across the United Kingdom for 20 years, while ensuring they operate to high standards and are accountable to their communities.
The English Devolution White Paper published on 16 December set out ambitious plans which demonstrate this commitment to communities and we will announce more details in 2025, including on the community ownership of assets.