Community and leisure centres from pools to pubs get £36million boost – see list of areas

Dozens of cherished community centres, sports clubs and leisure facilities across the country will be saved and restored thanks to a multimillion pound funding boost

Dozens of cherished community centres, sports clubs and leisure facilities across the country will be saved and restored thanks to a multimillion pound funding boost.

Ministers have pledged £36million of funding to back at least 35 community centres and 19 sports and leisure sites. Four historic swimming pools such as the 1960s Portishead Lido in North Somerset and one of the last tidal pools left in the country, the Victorian Shoalstone Pool in Devon, will get money.

The cash boost will also help renovate or support eight pubs and eight parks in a bid to tackle loneliness in rural communities. This includes £300,000 to buy back a village inn in North Yorkshire and £300,000 to renovate a 200-year-old pub in Gwynedd.

The £36million cash injection is part of £135million funding package, the Community Ownership Fund, which has seen money given out to 409 projects. A further £8.5million has been used to provide support before and after applications.

The scheme was launched in 2021 and was due to run until the end of March 2025 but it has finished early – and has fallen short of the original £150million allocated to local projects. Officials said the unspent money – more than £6million – will be used to fund other Government priorities.

The Community Ownership Fund directly funds community groups seeking to own and operate assets like community centres, libraries, parks, pubs and music venues, instead of them being owned by the market of local government. It means local people can make decisions themselves and reinvest their profits in their communities.

While the fund has now closed, ministers have promised to set out more details in 2025 on community ownership of assets under reforms in the English Devolution White Paper published earlier this month. Deputy PM Angela Rayner said: “We are delivering on our plan for change by saving these vital community assets to provide important opportunities for working people and their families.

“These projects represent what is so special about communities across the UK – bringing people of all ages together, providing vital support and giving them a sense of purpose and belonging. Every project will support social causes in the community, keeping widely used services open and thriving to improve people’s health and wellbeing.”

Where is money going – see full list

In Scotland, £5million will be awarded to 11 projects including over £1.7 million to refurbish and expand a community arts centre in Edinburgh – the MacMillan Hub.

In Northern Ireland, £3.7million will be awarded to 10 projects including £800,000 to expand the building and outdoor spaces of an autism and additional needs charity in Belfast – Sólás. This will help host more after-school clubs and youth programmes.

In Wales, £2.1million will be awarded to 7 projects including £400,000 to create a museum for the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, built in 1903 to link farming communities to the town.

In England, almost £25.5 million will be awarded to 57 projects including:

• 11 projects in the South West worth £4.7 million
• 8 projects in the North West worth almost £4.6 million
• 10 projects in the East Midlands worth almost £3.9 million
• 4 projects in London worth almost £3.2 million
• 8 projects in the South East worth almost £3 million
• 6 projects in Yorkshire and the Humber worth almost £2.2 million
• 5 projects in the West Midlands worth over £1.6 million
• 3 projects in the East of England worth over £1.7 million
• 2 projects in the North East worth over £675,256