Empty Homes Community Grants Programme: DCLG publishes guidance for funding applications

 

On the 25 January, DCLG published the appliction guidance for Community and Voluntary groups applying for funding to bring Empty Homes back into use through the governments Empty Homes Programme.

Tribal who are adminstering the bidding process have now published the application form and further guidance notes.

You can read more about the process and download the full documents from our Empty Homes Community Grants programme bidding page.

Phoenix Housing Co-op Bring Voids Back Into Use

(Source: Inside Housing)

Phoenix Housing Co-operative, based in Hackney, has almost completed the renovation of a disused property in Bow, Tower Hamlets, to provide studio flats for some of its members.

Under the co-op’s housing plus project, the Spey Street property, which was left empty for over five years, has been converted into nine studio flats for single people on low-incomes. The six-month renovation process began after they signed the lease in July last year.

Phoenix are hoping to find other properties for similar projects and will be bidding for the HCA Empty Properties Fund to support this work.

 

Community Grants Programme About To Go Live

The Community Grants Programme is part of the Coalition’s £100m Empty Homes Programme, which runs from 1 April 2012 to 31 March 2015. This will be accessible to community-led-organisations and as part of this funding programme they will not be required to become a registered provider (such as a registered housing association).

The Programme will be between £10m – £30m and bidding is expected to run from late January until the end of March 2012. The size of the programme will depend on the level of demand. Bidding is due to start in late January and will run until the end of March

Self-Help Housing.Org & HACT  are running a series of Briefing Events, aimed at helping community-led-organisations with bidding and securing funding allocations from the Community Grants Programme (CGP).

These regional events will be free of charge and will provide an opportunity to find out as much as possible about the way in which the Programme will work and the arrangements for bidding.  They will be running from 24 January 2012 to 10 February 2012 aroundEngland

 Jon Fitzmaurice, Director of Self-Help-Housing.Org, says, ‘These briefings will provide community-led groups with all the information that they need to bid for funding.  We hope that as many community organisations as possible are able to bring empty properties back into use’.

 For more information about the support that will be available to groups from self-help-housing.org & HACT  visit the Empty Homes Grants pages