Published: 23 Dec 24
Statement by HM Government – 23rd December 2024
The Community Ownership Fund is now closed for applications. There will be no further application windows on the current 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. There will be further Government announcements relating to communities in the new year, including on the community ownership of assets.
We have allocated a total of over £135m to 409 projects across the United Kingdom. A further £8.5m has been used to provide pre and post application support to projects via our development support provider, to allocate small revenue grants to projects ahead of applying to support them to procure professional services, to fund the evaluation of the effectiveness of the fund and on other administrative costs.
At the beginning of July, the Chancellor asked officials to prepare an assessment of the state of the UK’s spending inheritance from the previous government. This government has prioritised awarding £36.2m in funding to those 85 Round 4 Window 1 applicants who met our minimum scoring criteria and following further checks, were deliverable.
Any unallocated funding or funding returned by projects that have had to withdraw will be used to fund other key government priorities.
The Parish Council will meet to discuss alternative funding arrangement in relation to a potential purchase of Silkstone Common Methodist Chapel.
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