The 2023 Town & Village Scheme was announced on 21st July 2023 by Minister Humphreys, Department of Rural and Community Development. Tipperary County Council is seeking to establish the potential level of interest and the type/nature of any proposed projects that may be eligible under the scheme.
This year the scheme details may be summarised as follows:
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Grant Levels:
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Minimum grant €20,000 Maximum level of grant funding €500,000 in respect of one application from each Local Authority Maximum of €250,000 will apply in respect of 4 applications per LA (Note: use of Public Spending Code financial templates is required in costing projects of scale) |
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No. of Applications: |
Local Authorities are invited to submit up to 5 applications up to the value of €1.5m per local authority i.e. (a) 4 applications funding €20,000 to €250,000 and (b) 1 application funding €20,000 to €500,000 |
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1 application must be in respect of Towns/Villages that have not previously received funding under the Standard Town & Village Renewal Scheme in the last 3 years. |
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Rate of Aid:
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Remains at 90% in recognition of the challenging environment for raising financial contributions. The remaining 10% match funding must be contributed by the Local Authority and/or the community and/or philanthropic contributions. (Note: Voluntary labour is no longer an eligible form of match funding under the scheme). |
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Delivery timeframes: |
All projects funded must be in a position to commence as soon as approval is granted and must be capable of being delivered in a realistic timeframe i.e. within a 12 to 18 month period In recognition of the possible difficulties with project delivery on the islands or for larger scale up to €500k applications a delivery timeframe of 18-24 months will apply to these projects. |
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Appropriate assessments, feasibility studies and planning permissions (if required) must be in place prior to the submission of a project application. Where this has not taken place, it is recommended that the application is retained for future years or an application be submitted to fund the development of the project. This should assist Local Authorities to develop a range of projects which might be subsequently progressed, subject to the availability of further funding. |
The 2023 scheme will be targeted at three categories of 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 indicative list of activities (not exhaustive) will be funded under the Main 2023 Scheme.
- Regeneration projects that assist in revitalising 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; these projects should be identified in Town Centre First Plans, town and village masterplans (or similar) developed in collaboration with the local community, businesses and the other relevant stakeholders in the town or village. (Footpath development/improvement projects or similar will not be supported as these can be financed by Local Authorities directly or through the Active Travel Investment Programme.)
- In recognition of the need for outdoor community spaces one application may be used for the acquisition of land in town centres which supports Local Authorities for the development of town regeneration / community focused projects (to include possibly town parks / plazas, the development of surrounding properties already in Local Authority ownership etc). This is a new option introduced under the 2023 TVRS.
- Renovation or refurbishment to existing community centres (where there is a clearly identified need / rationale) (additional questionnaire applies)
- Projects to support vibrant and sustainable island communities on Ireland’s inhabited offshore islands. (Donegal, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Cork)
- Projects to support the establishment of town or village centre markets (e.g. farmers markets, open-air markets, local trader markets, artisan markets or similar) – i.e. ground works, provision of stalls, equipment, and services provision. Markets must be built on ethical and sustainability principles to ensure longevity and must be developed with high visibility and improved public realm which will attract a high level of footfall.
- Projects to develop town / village centre plazas, public outdoor dining spaces, parks, green spaces (including allotments and community gardens) and recreational spaces/amenities (to include outdoor sports facilities such as skate parks, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc.) in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses. Projects must be located in the town or village centre.
- Projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of shopfronts and street facades (including murals) in towns and villages.
- Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. This can include both the purchase and renovation of vacant and derelict buildings. Multi-purpose use includes enterprise spaces, arts, tourism, youth hubs and other community uses.
- Projects that bring vacant properties in Town Centres back into use as Remote Working Hubs – must demonstrate that there is a sound business case for a new hub.
- Marketing campaigns targeted at attracting remote workers and mobile talent to their county/region; and promotion of specific town/villages to attract new customers and/or business investment.
- Projects that support and enhance the night-time economy in line with emerging recommendations from the Night-Time Economy Taskforce.
- Enhancement of heritage assets (e.g. local museums/tourism attractions focused on historical aspects of the area, heritage sites/buildings, etc.) located in towns and villages, including energy efficiency measures.
The Council is asking Community & Social Enterprise groups across the county to bring forward details of any project which the Council could consider for submission to the Department of Rural and Community Development, under the criteria of the 2023 Scheme.
It is expected that the scheme will be oversubscribed and that shortlisting will need to be undertaken. The shortlisting process will refer to the terms of the scheme and suggest the projects most likely to obtain funding be invited to the full application stage of the process.
How to express an interest? Please submit your proposal using the Expression of Interest template by 12:00 noon on Thursday 21st September 2023 by e-mail to:
townandvillage@tipperarycoco.ie
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