Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2023
Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2023
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys launched the 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme on the 21st of July 2023. This €15 million Fund is designed to revitalise and regenerate our rural towns and villages.
The Departmental Press Release is available here: https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/350c4-our-rural-future-minister-humphreys-launches-2023-town-and-village-renewal-scheme/
Since the launch of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2016, over €154 million has been allocated to more than 1,700 projects. The Scheme has made an important contribution to supporting vibrant and sustainable communities in towns and villages throughout Ireland.
The 2023 Fund will support dozens of projects nationwide with a focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction and bringing additional footfall into the centre of our towns.
Grants will be made available to support the development of outdoor projects such as plazas, parks, playgrounds and green spaces.
Priority will be afforded to projects that align with the objectives of Our Rural Future, Town Centre First and Our Living Islands with a focus on:
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Investment in infrastructure to support town and village centre markets
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Bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use a multi-purpose community spaces, or to address remote working needs
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Investing in the development of parks, green spaces and recreational amenities in town centres
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A new option to allow local authorities to acquire plots of land to enable development of town regeneration, such as town parks and plazas
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Refurbishment of existing community centres
Applications
The closing date for the submission of applications to the DRCD under the scheme is 10 November 2023 nationally.
Each Local Authority is invited to submit applications of varying scale under the 2023 Scheme as follows:
- 4 applications - funding €20,000 to €250,000
- 1 application - funding €20,000 to €500,000
Types of activities that may be supported under the 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme include:
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Regeneration projects that assist in revitalising our rural towns and villages, in line with the Town Centre First Policy, through planned and sustainable regeneration and development projects that will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction and ensure the re-use of heritage and other existing buildings
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There is a new option introduced under the 2023 Scheme for the acquisition of land in town centres which supports local authorities for the development of town regeneration / community focused projects
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Renovation or refurbishment to existing community centres
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Projects to support vibrant and sustainable island communities on Ireland’s inhabited offshore islands
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Projects to support the establishment of town or village centre markets
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Projects to develop town / village centre plazas, public outdoor dining spaces, parks, green spaces (including allotments and community gardens) and recreational spaces/amenities in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses
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Projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of shopfronts and street facades (including murals) in towns and villages
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Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces
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Projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as Remote Working Hubs, where there is a demonstrable local need
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Enhancement of heritage assets (for example, local museums/tourism attractions focused on historical aspects of the area, heritage sites/buildings) located in towns and villages, including energy efficiency measures
Categories of Towns:
The 2023 scheme will be targeted at three categories of rural Towns/Villages as follows:
Category 1: Towns and villages with a population of up to 5,000 people.
Category 2: Towns with a population of 5,001 to 10,000 people.
Category 3: Larger towns with a population of up to 15,000 people may be eligible where the application is of a high quality and outlines a strong need for the investment, good value for money and positive outcomes that will have a substantial impact on the town
The primary focus of the scheme will be on villages and towns with a population of up to 5,000
(Category 1). These towns/villages will receive at least 60% of funding available. For the purposes of the 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, a village is defined as a small settlement of houses, smaller in size than a town, clustered around at least one central point of interest such as a school, church, shop, pub, community centre etc.
The following conditions apply to the application process:
Local Authorities will be required to advertise for expressions of interest from towns/villages in their area and to select up to 5 proposals for development into detailed applications to be submitted to the Department.
The development of these proposals must be undertaken in consultation with local town/village community and business interests. Full involvement by community interests and/or business interests will be an essential feature of successful projects. Projects should have been identified as part of a Town Centre First plan, strategic / statutory plan, County Development Plan, Local Economic and Community Plan (L.E.C.P) or similar, produced for the town or village.
Only proposals that are capable of being delivered within a 12 - 18 month time frame should be submitted.
The closing dates for receipt of completed expressions of interest is Friday 6th October 2023
For further details please see the scheme outline at the link below:
Town & Village Renewal Scheme 2023
If you have any queries please contact the Community Department on (01) 205 4893 or email community@dlrcoco.ie