Town & Village Renewal Scheme 2025 - Main Scheme

The 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme is designed to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland and to build greater resilience in to our town centres through regeneration projects. 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.

The 2025 scheme is targeted at three categories of towns/villages as follows and based on Census 2022 data:

• Category 1: Towns and villages with a population of up to 5,000 people.
• Category 2: Towns with a population of 5,001 to 10,000 people.
• Category 3: Larger towns with a population of up to 15,000 people may be eligible where the application is of a high quality and outlines a strong need for the investment, good value for money and positive outcomes that will have a substantial impact on the town.

The central focus of the scheme will be on Category 1 towns and villages which will receive at least 60% of the overall funding available under this Call.

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

Louth County Council is seeking Expressions of Interest for projects under the Main Scheme of the fund. Under the scheme:

• The minimum grant made available will be €50,000.
• The maximum level of grant available under the 2025 Scheme will remain at €500,000 in respect of one application from each local authority.
• A funding ceiling of €300,000 will apply in respect of a maximum of further 3 applications per local authority.
• Up to 90% of the total cost of a project under the Scheme will be provided for any individual project. The remaining 10% match funding must be contributed by the successful applicant.
• Appropriate assessments, feasibility studies and planning permissions (if required) must be in place prior to the submission of a project application under the Main Scheme.
• Projects approved for funding of up to €300,000 must be capable of being delivered within an 18-month timeframe. In respect of projects approved for funding over €300,000, an extended completion timeframe of 24 months is in place.

Applications open on Tuesday 25^th March 2025 and close on Friday 30^th May 2025 at 12pm. If you are interested in applying to the Scheme, please read the attached Scheme Outline fully and complete the attached 2025 TVRS Expression of Interest Form, returning it to funding@louthcoco.ie, stating which funding stream you are applying for in the body of your email – Main Scheme, Project Development Measure or Building and Landing Acquisition Measure.

Please note that the submission window dates for Expressions of Interest to Louth County Council are different depending on the measure.

In addition, please note that the deadline dates for submission of Expressions of Interest to Louth County Council are different to the application deadline dates indicated by the Department of Rural and Community Development on the Scheme Outline.  The reason for this is that the Expressions of Interest must be reviewed by Louth County Council before submission to the Department of Rural and Community Development for further consideration.

If you have any queries in relation to the 2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, please email funding@louthcoco.ie