Funding for Rural Village Halls in England

The fourth round of the Government’s Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund is currently accepting applications for projects that must be finished by the end of March 2026.

The funding aims to support the modernisation and improvement of village halls, so that they are fit for purpose and can provide activities which seek to achieve one or more of the following outcomes for their communities:

• Improved health and/or wellbeing and/or reduction in rural loneliness.
• Positive impact on the local environment, contributes towards net zero.
• Support for the local rural economy.
• Promotion of community cohesion.

Grants of between £7,500 and £75,000 are available. The grant will be 20% of the capital project costs including VAT. Applicants must be able to identify where the 80% is being sourced from. The minimum project costs are £37,500. There is no upper limit but the maximum grant is £75,000. All project work must be completed by 31 March 2026.

This scheme is for those groups who are responsible for rural community buildings who wish to make substantive improvements to their building, whether that be extensions or improving energy efficiency and contributing to Net Zero.

The grants are for capital improvements only, where projects aim to either upgrade, extend or improve facilities or where capital items need to be purchased. This could include, for example, extensions, internal reconfigurations, new roof and roof refurbishment, refurbishment of toilets and kitchens, damp proofing, or new installation of communication systems. The grants cannot be used for maintenance, repair or renewal work.

To be eligible, the village hall must:

• Be charity owned and managed by the community.
• Be located in a local rural area with a population of 10,000 or less people.
• Have a freehold or leasehold in place. If a leasehold interest, there must be at least 21 years left to run on the lease.

There is a two-stage application process. There is currently no set deadline for completion of the Stage 1 form. However, there is no guarantee the application will be processed should the Fund be oversubscribed. ACRE will process applications in order of receipt.

Stage One applications are currently being accepted.

Further details can be found here: Main grants scheme for village halls – ACRE