DC&SDC: Change to Community Centre Venue Fund application criteria

The fund was first opened in 2016/17 to venues not owned or managed by council.

Under the current criteria for applying to the Community Centre Venue Fund, constituted ‘not for profit’ organisations who have a community venue can apply for grant aid up to a maximum of £12,000 in Tier 1 or apply for £7,500 in Tier 2 and the fund can be utilised for both core costs or project costs or a combination of both.

Council officers had received feedback from a range of rural community groups which highlighted that key strategic rural venues and centres which are under resourced are moving down the funding/scoring in Tier 1 as larger well-established urban groups are competing in the Tier 1 strand for funding.

Whilst the Tier 1 fund was primarily targeted at Rural Groups the criteria did allow Urban Centres to apply.

Under Option 2 changes would be made to both tiers with grants available of up to £12,000.

Tier 1 will see between £4,001and £12,000 available for centres based in one of the three rural DEAs - Sperrin, Faughan or Derg with a total funding of £120,000.#

Tier 2 will have funding between £4,001 and £12,000 available for centres based in the five urban DEAs - Strabane, Waterside, Moore, Foyleside and Ballyarnett with a total funding of £75,000. The scoring matrix for each tier will now be changed to the same criteria.

Proposing Option 1 was accepted, DUP Alderman Maurice Devenney said: “As a rural councillor I welcome some of this report.

“In the past I and other rural councillors have raised the issue in and around rural venues. We talk about the need in there to grow capacity and the work they have done. In the past two years over the crisis with Covid some of these rural venues opened their doors and did excellent work.

“When we look at some of the urban venues and see some of them getting huge amounts of money - three, four, five hundred thousand pounds and here we have rural venues looking for £12,000 to try and keep the doors open.”

Seconding the proposal, Alliance Councillor Rachael Ferguson added: “This money is vital to rural areas and keeping the doors open for community groups.”

Speaking on behalf of Sinn Féin, Councillor Michaele Boyle commented: “Covid has thrown up many, many challenges in how we do things. We hear time and time again about the small community groups particularly in rural areas struggling when it comes to funding so we welcome this report and support Option 2”.

Elected members from all parties were in agreement and Option 2 was approved.

Lottery funding boost to tackle rural exclusion in Derry region