New levelling up and community investments
This collection brings together four investment programmes which aim to level up communities.
Overview
The UK government is committed to levelling up across the whole of the United Kingdom to ensure that no community is left behind, particularly as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.
That is why we are now making the biggest changes to the way we support local economic growth in a decade, in order to regenerate our town centres and high streets, support individuals into employment, improve local transport links and invest in local culture, while giving communities a stronger voice to take over cherished local assets that might otherwise be lost.
This will involve the UK government decentralising power and working more directly with local partners and communities across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, who are best placed to understand the needs of their local areas and more closely aligned to the local economic geographies to deliver quickly on the ground.
To support these objectives, the UK government has launched four new investment programmes to support communities right across the country. All share common challenges and opportunities, which the UK government is determined to address in collaboration with local partners. These investment programmes are:
- The UK Community Renewal Fund
- The Levelling Up Fund
- The Community Ownership Fund
- The UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Community Renewal Fund
The UK Community Renewal Fund Programme was closed in December 2023 following the publication of the UK Community Renewal Fund evaluation report.
The Levelling Up Fund
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund will invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, including regenerating town centres and high streets, upgrading local transport, and investing in cultural and heritage assets.
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Levelling Up Fund: prospectus
- 29 March 2021
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Levelling Up Fund: additional documents
- 11 June 2021
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Levelling Up Fund: explanatory note on the assessment and decision-making process
- 28 October 2021
The Levelling Up Fund Round 2
The Levelling Up Fund Round 3
This provides information on the outcome of round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund, with links to the explanatory note and validation guidance which includes the lists of successful projects.
The Community Ownership Fund
The £150 million Community Ownership Fund helps to ensure that communities across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland can support and continue benefiting from the local facilities, community assets and amenities most important to them.
- Community Ownership Fund round 1: prospectus
- Community Ownership Fund Round 2: prospectus
- Community Ownership Fund Round 3: prospectus
- Community Ownership Fund: application form
- Community Ownership Fund: assessment criteria guidance
- Community Ownership Fund round 2: application form assessment criteria guidance
- Community Ownership Fund round 3: application form assessment criteria guidance
- Community Ownership Fund: further bids from reopening of first round announced
The Community Ownership Fund: Round 4
The Community Ownership Fund is now closed. There will be no further application windows on the 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.
The government will deliver on its manifesto commitment to replace the community ‘Right to Bid’ with a strengthened ‘Right to Buy’ Assets of Community Value, creating a more robust pathway to community asset ownership. And we will seek to support high streets by strengthening Business Improvement Districts which have helped to improve town and city centres across the United Kingdom for 20 years, while ensuring they operate to high standards and are accountable to their communities.
We have also implemented new High Street Rental Auction regulations, providing local communities and businesses with a right to rent premises that have long sat vacant, casting a cloud over the local area. The power will help to provide new shops and community spaces, supporting businesses and communities to access the high street and create vibrant, bustling spaces they can be proud of.
We encourage any community groups seeking funding to preserve community assets, including those who may have submitted an Expression of Interest (EOI) but did not submit a full application, to continue to use the guidance and tools available through our development support provider on the MyCommunity site. These tools have been designed to help any organisation seeking to save an asset that is important to them and their local community and will remain available beyond the COF programme. The development support provider may also be able to help to suggest alternative sources of funding that organisations could look to secure.
The Devolution White Paper, which was published on 16 December 2024, set out plans which demonstrate our commitment to communities and there will be further announcements relating to communities in the new year, including on the community ownership of assets.
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s ambitious Levelling Up agenda and a significant component of its support for places across the UK. It provides £2.6 billion of new funding for local investment by March 2025, with all areas of the UK receiving an allocation from the Fund via a funding formula rather than a competition.
It will help places right across the country deliver enhanced outcomes and recognises that even the most affluent parts of the UK contain pockets of deprivation and need support.
Updates to this page
Published 3 March 2021Last updated 23 December 2024 + show all updates
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Update on Community Ownership Fund Round 4.
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Added Community Ownership Fund Round 4: how to express your interest in applying.
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Added Community Ownership Fund: evaluation method.
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Added The Levelling Up Fund Round 3.
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Added UK Shared Prosperity Fund: grant determinations 2023 to 2024
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Added Community Ownership Fund round 3: webinar slides and recording.
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Added Community Ownership Fund, Round 3: prospectus and assessment criteria guidance.
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Added UK Shared Prosperity Fund: evaluation.
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UKSPF Additional Information added
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Added Community Ownership Fund round 2: application form assessment criteria guidance.
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Added: Levelling Up Fund Round 2: small scheme appraisal toolkit user guide
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Added: Community Ownership Fund round 2: how to express your interest in applying
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Added Levelling Up Fund Round 2: frequently asked questions.
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Added: Levelling Up Fund Round 2 technical note and application guidance
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Added UK Shared Prosperity Fund: Prospectus; interventions, outputs and indicators; and allocations methodology.
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Added: Community Ownership Fund: further bids from reopening of first round announced
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Added Levelling Up Fund Round 2: Prospectus and Updates to the Index of Priority Places
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Added UK Shared Prosperity Fund: pre-launch guidance.
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Details of Community Ownership Fund new round 2 start date and reopening of round 1 added.
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Added UK Community Renewal Fund list of successful bids, explanatory notes on assessment and decision-making process, monitoring and evaluation guidance, grant funding agreement and FAQs.
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Added Levelling Up Fund and Community Ownership Fund first round successful bidders and explanatory notes on assessment and decision-making process.
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Added Community Ownership Fund: prospectus; assessment criteria guidance; application form; and privacy notice.
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Added Levelling Up Fund: additional documents.
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First published.