Funding is being made available under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS ) to support the continued regeneration of County Westmeath’s rural towns and villages so that they are attractive and vibrant places for people to live and work.
The 2022 Scheme will prioritise tackling vacancy and dereliction in towns and villages, remote working and supporting town-centred living. Other projects which will be welcomed include street facades, green spaces and parks.
Westmeath County Council are seeking expressions of interest for this Scheme as follows
• T&V Main Scheme
This measure is looking for projects that
· Bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. This includes former state owned property that is no longer being used and is made available to the community. 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. This also includes funding for the repurposing of existing community or publicly owned buildings in town or village centres to facilitate remote working. Successful applicants who receive funding for remote working facilities will be required to commit to a three year membership of the National Hub Network.
· Regeneration 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 and village masterplans (or similar ) developed in collaboration with the local community, businesses and the other relevant stakeholders in the town or village.
· New build community centres (where there is a clearly identified and defined need in a town or village that cannot be met with an existing premises ).
· Projects to develop parks, plazas, public outdoor dining spaces, 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. Only applications for funding for public or community owned or leased properties for a 15 year term and/or lands will be considered. Projects must be located in the town or village centre.
Other Projects that may be supported but of a lower priority under the 2022 scheme include
· Projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of street facades in towns and villages with a population of less than 15,000 people. Projects will be considered if they add colour and vibrancy to main streets, and build upon the development of plazas and public outdoor dining and recreation spaces.
· 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 ) located in towns and villages, including energy efficiency measures.
The minimum grant which is available is €20,000. A maximum of €250,000 will apply in respect of five applications. The maximum level of grant funding available is €500,000 in respect of one application and 90% rate of aid is available under this measure.
