Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs: Rural Halls refurbishment Scheme

Overview

A mandatory accredited ‘Managing your Space’ training programme will be an integral part of the Rural Halls Refurbishment Scheme.

The Scheme will target rural halls which have had limited previous investment, are under-utilised and restricted in usage.

Your project must be located in a rural area.

Support Available:

Financial support will be available for capital refurbishment works. The Scheme also includes a mandatory 'Managing your Space' training programme for members of the applicant organisation.

Funding is available for up to 95% of the refurbishment cost up to a maximum grant of £40,000. The minimum grant awarded will be £15,000. The total cost of your capital project must be a minimum of £15,790 and up to a maximum £60,000.

Any costs over and above the maximum grant and up to the maximum total project costs of £60,000 will be paid by your organisation's resources e.g. your organisation's funds, other grant aid or a bank loan. Your organisation must provide a minimum of 5% cash of the total project costs. You must therefore show that you have, or have access to, sufficient funds to pay for the project costs over and above the grant aid available and until the grant payments are released. Grants can only be paid retrospectively when your project completes or in phased payments with written agreement from DAERA.

Essential Scheme Primary Criteria

- The project is located in a rural area;

- The applicant is a formally constituted community/voluntary group;

- The applicant owns or leases the hall at submission of the Stage 1 Application. A lease of at least 20 further years at the date of application must be in place;

- The total cost of the capital project must be a minimum of £15,790 and up to a maximum £60,000. The applicant must provide evidence that they have, or have access to, sufficient funds to pay for the project costs over and above the grant aid available and until the grant payments are released. This must include a minimum of 5% cash contribution from your organisation;

- The hall is not new or recently renovated ('new or recently renovated' should be taken to mean built or has had a distinct programme of capital works which exceeded £10,000 carried out within the past 15 years);

- The organisation must hold unrestricted reserves of less than £25,000 at the date of application;

- Commitment from a minimum of 6 volunteers to engage in the 'Managing your Space' capacity building element of the Programme;

- Project must address these 'fit for purpose' standard requirements; Improved health, safety and hygiene standards; and Increased efficiency and meeting environmental needs.

Secondary Criteria (shortlisting)

The number of projects anticipated to be funded through this pilot Scheme is 30.

In the event of the number of applications exceeding the budget available, additional shortlisting criteria as follows will be applied according to the Northern Ireland Super Output Area rank as evidenced by the Northern Ireland Multiple Deprivation Measures 2017.