Government scheme to save beloved community sites will close early

Government to shut £150m fund that would have allowed communities to take ownership of pubs, village shops, sports grounds and other assets.

The community ownership fund, launched in 2021, was due to run until the end of March 2025 and allocate £150 million to local projects. But it has now completed its final round of grants, with the Government blaming the state of the public finances for the decision to end the scheme.

The final £36 million round of funding announced on Monday will go to 85 projects across the UK, including at least 35 community centres, eight pubs and eight parks.

Nineteen sports clubs and leisure facilities across the country 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 Devon.

Funding for communities to save their local pub include £300,000 to buy back a village inn in North Yorkshire and £300,000 to renovate a 200-year-old pub in Gwynedd.

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner said:

“We are delivering on our plan for change by saving these vital community assets to provide important opportunities for working people and their families.

“These projects represent what is so special about communities across the UK – bringing people of all ages together, providing vital support and giving them a sense of purpose and belonging.

‘Every project will support social causes in the community, keeping widely used services open and thriving to improve people’s health and wellbeing.”