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Town and Village Renewal Scheme

Project Development Measure (Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2024)

The project development measure aims to put in place a pipeline of well-developed projects and so will provide funding of €50,000 each for two projects that will bring the projects up to shovel ready stage. The Expression of Interest form is attached for communities that want to have a project considered for this proposal. It will be assessed by Wicklow County Council and successful projects will be forwarded to DRCD to be considered for funding

Only proposals that are capable of being delivered within a 12-18 month timeframe should be submitted.

The development of these proposals must be undertaken in consultation with the appointed TRO and the local town/village community and business interests. Full involvement by community interests and/or business interests will be an essential feature of successful projects. Ideally, projects will have been identified as part of a town plan, health check or similar study, produced for the town or village. Projects that cannot demonstrate that a consultative process has been undertaken to ascertain the views of local community and businesses will not be permitted.

The selection of PDM projects will be by means of a competitive process. The assessment and approval of all projects will have regard to a number of factors including: alignment with Our Rural Future; TCF plan; the statutory development planning system; additional Department priorities; available funding; the range, mix, quality and impact of; proposed projects; past project delivery performance of local authorities; previous funding provided and all other relevant considerations. Projects that include nature based solutions or contain a strong sustainability focus will be given additional examination and may be considered more favourably. A focus on accessibility for all and inclusivity should be to the fore when developing project proposals for the community.

 

How to apply:

As in previous years, in order to apply, community groups must fill out an Expression of Interest form (available to download below) which should be submitted by email to townregeneration@wicklowcoco.ie

 

The Closing Date for receipt of Expression of Interest Forms is Monday 11th March 2024

All Expressions of Interest will be assessed based on the priorities outlined. 

 

Town and Village Renewal Scheme Expression of Interest Form 2024

  1. 2024 TVRS PDM Expression of Interest form

    File type .docx

2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme

Following on from the announcement by Minister Humphreys of the launch of the 2023 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, Wicklow County Council is delighted to announce that the scheme is open for applications in the county.

Following the launch of Our Rural Future, and subsequently the Town Centre First Policy, there has been some amendments to the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Our Rural Future will see increased investment out to 2025 in remote working infrastructure to provide an opportunity for people to continue to live in rural communities while following their career ambitions. It will also see continued investment to support town centre living. It will ensure cross government investment to support rural towns and villages as hubs of economic and social activity.

Grant Levels: 

For the 2023 Scheme, the minimum grant which is available is €20,000. The maximum level of grant funding available is remaining at €500,000 in respect of one application from each Local Authority. A maximum of €250,000 will apply in respect of 4 applications.

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.

Rate of Aid:

The rate of Aid for projects for this year will remain at 90% in recognition of the challenging environment for raising financial contributions. 

Note: Voluntary labour is no longer an eligible form of match funding under the scheme.

Scheme Focus:

The TVRS objectives are being refocused to align with commitments in Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First Policy. The 2023 Scheme will focus on objectives such as tackling vacancy and dereliction in towns and villages, regeneration projects that support active and vibrant town or village centres, town or village centre markets, upgrading shopfronts and street facades, projects on Irelands inhabited offshore islands, and green spaces and parks, etc.

There is also a new option to submit an application for the acquisition of land in town centres to support the development of town regeneration / community focused projects such as parks and plazas.

Delivery timeframes: 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.

Project Development Measure:

The Project Development Measure (up to €50,000) was introduced on a trial basis in 2021. This year the measure does not form part of this announcement but will be available separately under a new suite of Town Centre First supports that will be announced in the coming months.

How to apply:

As in previous years, in order to apply, community groups must fill out an Expression of Interest form (available to download below) which should be submitted by email to townandvillage@wicklowcoco.ie

Selection of projects is a competitive process. Five Expressions of Interest will be selected by the local authority for development into detailed applications, to be submitted to the Department of Community and Rural Development by 10th November 2023.

All Expressions of Interest will be assessed based on the priorities contained in the Scheme Outlines (available to download below).

The closing date for receipt of Expressions of Interest has been extended to Thursday 5th October at 1pm.