A state-funded scheme that has helped save cherished community sites including mainland Britain’s most remote pub is being shut early, leaving millions of pounds unallocated.
The community ownership fund was launched in 2021, with the aim of handing out £150m worth of grants that would give local groups the financial firepower to take control of pubs, village shops, sports grounds and other beloved assets.
However, the scheme, which was due to run to the end of 2025, is being closed early with £135m having been allocated to date. The government blamed the early closure on the state of the public finances, with officials saying the unspent money would be used to fund other government priorities.
Advocates of the scheme had been lobbying Labour in January before the election to expand the scheme and solidify community rights of purchase. It was hoped an enhanced fund could lead to more communities banding together and taking control of cherished local gems, after successes such as the purchase of the Old Forge pub in Inverie, Scotland.
The Old Forge is accessible only by ferry or via a two-day trek through the Knoydart peninsula on the west coast of Scotland. It was bought through crowdfunding support and cash from the community ownership fund in 2022, after a year-long struggle to raise funds and secure a sale.
The fund also granted £300,000 to local people last year to buy the Vale of Aeron, a pub in Ceridigion, Wales, which was adored by the poet Dylan Thomas when he lived nearby in the 1940s.
Ministers are promising to set out more details on community ownership of assets as part of changes due to follow the publication of the English devolution white paper, which was released earlier this month.
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The community ownership fund’s final round of grants was announced on Monday, allocating £36m to 85 projects across the UK, including 35 community centres, eight pubs and eight parks.
Nineteen sports clubs and leisure facilities will be saved, including four historic swimming pools such as the 1960s Portishead lido in North Somerset, and one of the last tidal pools left in the country, the Victorian Shoalstone pool in Brixham, Devon.
More than £1.7m is being used to refurbish and expand the MacMillan Hub community arts centre in Edinburgh, and another £800,000 to expand the building and outdoor spaces of an autism and additional needs charity in Belfast. The final round of funding also includes £400,000 to create a museum for the Welshpool and Llanfair light railway.
In total, £135m has gone to 409 projects since 2021, with a further £8.5m used to provide support before and after applications.
The minister for local growth, Alex Norris, said: “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.”