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Guidance

Community Ownership Fund: prospectus

The Community Ownership Fund bidding prospectus provides detailed guidance on the purpose of the fund, eligibility criteria, funding and support assessment criteria and the decision-making process.

Updates to this page

From:
Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities
Published:
15 July 2021
Last updated:
23 December 2024
Show all updates

  1. Update on Community Ownership Fund Round 4.

  2. Statement added on the status of Round 4 of the Fund.

  3. Updated to show the opening date of the Round 4 Window 1.

  4. Added new version of the prospectus for Round 4.

  5. Added Welsh translation of the round 3 Community Ownership Fund prospectus

  6. Updated to show the opening date of the next window.

  7. Prospectus updated to reflect extension of the maximum capital funding available to new applicants from Round 3 Window 2 onwards. Applicants are now able to apply for up to £2 million in capital funding.

  8. Update made to sections 7 and 11 to clarify assessment criteria for larger projects and the documents that applicants should upload.

  9. Added Community Ownership Fund prospectus, Round 3.

  10. Updated to reflect the opening of the third bidding window of Round 2.

  11. Change to eligible funding requirement.

  12. Added translation

  13. Added new version of prospectus covering changes to the eligibility requirements and application process.

  14. Details of new round 2 start date and reopening of round 1 added.

  15. Added Welsh translation

  16. First published.

Documents

Community Ownership Fund round 4: prospectus

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Community Ownership Fund round 3: prospectus (not in use)

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Community Ownership Fund round 2: prospectus (not in use)

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Community Ownership Fund round 1: prospectus (not in use)

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Details

The Community Ownership Fund is now closed. There will be no further application windows on the COF programme. We have taken this difficult decision due to the challenging inheritance left by the previous government.

Whilst we are closing the Community Ownership Fund, this government remains committed to the communities’ sector and community empowerment.

The government will deliver on its manifesto commitment to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ Assets of Community Value, creating a more robust pathway to community asset ownership. And we will seek to 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.

We have 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.

We encourage any community groups seeking funding to preserve community assets, including those who may have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) but did not submit a full application, to continue to use the guidance and tools available through our development support provider on the MyCommunity site. These tools have been designed to help any organisation seeking to save an asset that is important to them and their local community and will remain available beyond the COF programme. The development support provider may also be able to help to suggest alternative sources of funding that organisations could look to secure. 

The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment to communities and there will be further announcements relating to communities in the new year, including on the community ownership of assets.

The £150 million Community Ownership Fund supports community groups in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of being lost.

Voluntary and community groups can bid for funding to acquire important assets and run them for the benefit of the local community.

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