Fund Information

Funding body: Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA)
Maximum value: £230,000
Application deadline: None specified
Location: Northern Ireland

About the Fund:

The aim of the scheme is to support community organisations in rural villages in Northern Ireland with projects to tackle rural poverty and social isolation by developing a sustainable use for a disused historic building.

Value Notes

The programme will award up to £4.2 million over a five-year period.

The grant scheme provides three routes of support to applicants:

Funding of up to £10,000 is available to support project viability work. This support is administered by the Architectural Heritage Fund.
Funding of up to £20,000 is available to support project development work.
Funding of up to £200,000 is available to support project delivery, ie capital works on site to enable the historic building to deliver a sustainable use that helps to tackle rural poverty and social isolation.

Who Can Apply?

Applications will be accepted from charities, social enterprises and other not-for-profit groups in rural villages of less than 5,000 in Northern Ireland.

Restrictions

Although no exclusions are specified, potential applicants may contact the Department for Communities to discuss the programme's requirements.

Eligible Expenditure

Funding is intended to help meet the costs of the following activities:

Viability Support - To consider potential uses for a building and its current condition, and to compile a report summarising the findings of the feasibility of plans for the building to a standard template.
Development Support - To cover some of the costs of developing and coordinating a project and taking it towards the start of work on-site (drawings, approvals, fundraising, etc).
Delivery Support - To cover a shortfall between project costs and community resources to carry out capital works to a historic building to deliver a use that helps to tackle rural poverty and social isolation.