Funded under Project Ireland 2040, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is a key measure directly supporting the objectives of Our Rural Future and the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy. The Scheme which was introduced in 2016, is part of a suite of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland.
The National Planning Framework (NPF) sets the vision and strategy for the development of our country, balanced across all of our regions, towns and cities, out to the year 2040. The Department of Rural and Community Development strives to support the enhancement of vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The Department supports NPF commitments through targeted policy and investment that empowers communities, supports sustainable rural regeneration and fosters regional growth.
Our Rural Future – Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021 – 2025, commits to supporting a thriving rural Ireland. This is integral to our national economic, social, cultural and environmental wellbeing and development. This includes regenerating rural towns and villages, and enhancing the vibrancy of rural places. It aims to enable people to live and work in a high quality environment.
The Town Centre First policy further aims to give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business. It contains a range of actions and direct supports designed to enhance the social and economic revival of towns, as well as improving rural resilience through addressing challenges like vacancy and dereliction. The actions also support the protection of our environment, as well as the heritage and culture of our towns.
This 2025 TVRS is designed to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland by focusing on stimulating town centre economic and social regeneration. This will be achieved through projects which support sustainable employment creation, town centre resilience and regeneration, enhancing our streetscapes, and bringing vacant and derelict buildings and lands back into use as community multi-purpose spaces through refurbishment and renovation.
The TVRS is administered through local authorities, who work closely with local communities and businesses to develop place-based proposals.
Please note that Expressions of Interest are sought for the Main Scheme and Project Development Measure (PDM) only. These may be emailed to or submitted to the local Municipal District office.
The closing date for these Expressions of Interest is 14th May 2025 to allow for time to collate responses before return of successful applications to Department of Rural & Community Development.
Summary of Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2025
· fund available to stimulate town centre economic and social regeneration and resilience
· a focus on tackling vacancy and dereliction to bring additional footfall into town centres
· funding for the pre-development costs associated with projects to help communities develop applications for future funding calls
· funding of up to €500,000 per local authority for the acquisition of vacant or derelict buildings or lands for town regeneration purposes
The 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme will support projects throughout Ireland with a focus on stimulating town centre economic and social regeneration through sustainable employment creation.
Three funding streams are available under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme; the Main Scheme, the Project Development Measure and the Building or Land Acquisition Measure.
Projects will align with the objectives of the government policies Our Rural Future, Town Centre First and Our Living Islands with a focus on:
· driving town centre regeneration;
· supporting town or village centre plaza development;
· development of green spaces or recreational amenities in town or village centres;
· the enhancement of our streetscapes;
· supporting town or village centre markets;
· upgrading or refurbishing community centres;
· bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use as multi-purpose community spaces;
· supporting vibrant and sustainable Gaeltacht communities and island communities on Ireland’s inhabited offshore islands
Each Local Authority is invited to submit applications of varying scale under the 2025 Scheme as follows:
- 3 applications – funding €50,000 to €300,000 per application
- 1 application – funding €50,000 to €500,000 per application
i. 2 applications – funding of up to €50,000 per application
Building or Land Acquisition Measure
i. Up to 3 applications – total fund of up to €500,000 per local authority
Types of activities that may be supported under the Main Scheme of the 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme include:
· regeneration projects that assist in revitalising and building resilience in our rural towns and villages, in line with the Town Centre First Policy, through planned and sustainable regeneration
· development projects that will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction and ensure the re-use of heritage and other existing buildings
· projects to support vibrant and sustainable Gaeltacht communities and/or island communities on Ireland’s inhabited offshore islands
· upgrade or refurbishment to community centres (where there is a clearly identified need / rationale – an additional questionnaire applies)
· support for the development of remote working facilities. Given the number of hubs supported to date, any application received which includes the establishment of a hub (see Appendix 2 for hub classification guide) must expressly demonstrate a clear demand/need for such a facility and that clear additionality will be delivered – any such applications will be required to provide information in relation to need/demand/additionality and engagement with relevant stakeholders
· projects to support the establishment or regeneration of town or village centre markets (for example: farmers’ markets, open-air markets, local trader markets, artisan markets or similar) – that is, ground works, provision of stalls, equipment, and services provision. Markets must be built on ethical and sustainability principles to ensure longevity and must be developed with high visibility and improved public realm which will attract a high level of footfall
· projects to develop town / village centre plazas, public outdoor dining spaces, parks, 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. Where a proposal includes a plaza, outdoor dining space, amphitheatre or similar, consideration should be given to appropriate public lighting which supports mobility, accessibility, safety and security to ensure the spaces can be used for evening and night time activities. Applications for funding will only be considered where the properties and/or lands are publicly or community owned or leased
· projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of shopfronts and street facades (including murals) in towns and villages. Local authorities are encouraged to engage with local business and property owners to examine how group projects can add colour and vibrancy to main streets
· projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. This includes the renovation of vacant and derelict buildings or development of sites within the town or village as multi-purpose community assets. Multi-purpose use includes enterprise spaces, arts, tourism, youth hubs, parks, parklets, allotments, play areas and other community uses
· projects that support and enhance the night-time economy in line with recommendations from the Night-Time Economy Taskforce
· enhancement of heritage assets (for example, local museums/tourism attractions focused on historical aspects of the area, heritage sites/buildings) located in towns and villages, including energy efficiency measures
Project Development Measure
The Project Development Measure (PDM) will provide up to €50,000 per project.
The purpose of the PDM is to assist local authorities to establish a pipeline of significant, well developed projects which could subsequently be quickly and efficiently progressed to construction stage, subject to the availability of further funding.
Funding will be awarded for the pre-development costs associated with projects to help communities develop applications for future funding calls.
Futher information and Expression of Interest forms can be found on our Padlet – Cork County PPN Padlet