The government's Community Ownership Fund has been extended to allow applications from parish and town councils for the first time.

The Community Ownership Fund is a government programme with £150m over four years run by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to help communities take ownership of assets at risk of closure across the UK.

The National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has been lobbying the government to extend the fund's eligibility to local councils. Only community and voluntary organisations have been allowed to apply, with all types of councils excluded. In addition to allowing applications from local councils, other changes to the fund include increasing the amount of funding all projects can bid for from £250,000 to £1m and the requirement for match-funding reduced to as low as 10%.

Round three of the fund launched on 11 May and aims to support community ownership projects such as sports facilities, arts and music venues, museums and galleries, parks, pubs, post offices and shops.

Find out more about the Community Ownership Fund here 

Read the government's full statement here