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Government announces £36.2 Million in grants through Community Ownership Fund

A special congratulations to the 36 organisations who benefited from the Community Ownership Fund support programme.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government (MHCLG) has awarded grants totalling £36.2 million to 85 projects across the UK through the Community Ownership Fund (COF), including 12 Locality members. This fund helps communities take ownership of assets at risk of closure, giving local people and groups more control over the future of loved local places and spaces.

We want to send a special congratulations to the 36 community organisations and other groups who benefitted from the Community Ownership Fund (COF) support programme. This programme is delivered by a consortium of 10 leading community support organisations, led by Locality. Groups that had in-depth support from the support programme have been awarded over £17.4 million in this round.

Bradford Organic Communities Service Ltd (BOCS) is one grantee, and has been awarded £235,917. Their project will secure the future of Wibsey Community Gardens in Bradford by renovating this vital outdoor space, ensuring it is fit for purpose for future generations. The project aims to create community pride, improve cohesion, and help users develop skills to access employment opportunities.

BOCS highlighted the importance of the support provided: “This technical support has been excellent in enabling us to prepare the site for the project. It funded essential work we could not otherwise afford, including a drainage survey, architectural work, planning applications, and legal support to secure an extended lease from the Council.”

Another awardee, Evergreen Collective in Derby, have been awarded £946,779 in total. Evergreen Collective are bringing the neglected Apna Madeley Centre back to life for the benefit of their diverse local community.

“Nabillah (Locality) was amazing and made me feel that the application was possible and provided me all the support I needed. I honestly think your organisation is amazing and without it a lot of organisations like mine would not feel they have the capacity or ability to apply for anything like COF.”

Misba Khan
Misba Khan
Evergreen, Founder

In this round, £25.2 Million was allocated to 57 projects in England, £5m allocated to 11 projects in Scotland, £2.1 Million to 7 projects in Wales and £3.7m to 10 projects in Northern Ireland. This represents the largest ever window of the Community Ownership Fund to date, both in terms of funding awarded and number of projects.

We are thrilled that 12 Locality members were awarded over £6.1 million in Round 4, Window 1. This bring the total amount awarded to Locality members the life of the COF programme to 19.8 million.

We're excited to see the impact these projects will have on their communities. Several new and past awardees will feature in a series of upcoming films and webinars designed to support groups taking on community assets.

If you're renovating or managing a community asset, we have a series of expert led webinars coming up for you. Register via the links below!