A WREXHAM MP is urging community projects to 'come forward' for vital funding.

Sarah Atherton MP has asked for local community groups to take advantage of a UK Government fund aimed at creating and preserving local amenities, by bringing them into community ownership.

The UK government has launched a new £150 million Community Ownership Fund to help ensure that communities across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can support and continue benefitting from the local facilities, community assets and amenities most important to them.

From the summer of 2021, community groups will be able to bid for up to £250,000 matched-funding to help them buy or take over local community assets at risk of being lost, to run as community-owned businesses.

In exceptional cases, up to £1 million matched-funding will be available to help establish a community-owned sports club or help buy a sports grounds at risk of being lost without community intervention.

The Community Ownership Fund will help ensure that important parts of the social fabric, such as pubs, sports clubs, theatres and post office buildings, can continue to play a central role in towns and villages across the UK.

Ms Atherton said: “Amenities such as parks, leisure facilities, music venues, museums and galleries all foster a sense of community pride and bring people together. There has been a trend of decline in these facilities, which has a knock-on impact on people’s pride in where they live, and the strength of local communities. We are all proud to live in Wrexham, so let’s make our local areas even better places to live, work and raise families.

“The first bidding round for the Community Ownership Fund will open by June 2021. Bids will be accepted from all communities across the UK. In most circumstances, bids should be made from community and voluntary organisations with formal governance in place, such as a Community Trust. Local authorities including parish councils will not be eligible to bid.

“Any community groups that want to make a bid should feel free to make contact with my office by emailing sarah.atherton.mp@parliament.uk and I will be delighted to support any project that will allow local residents to benefit and shape their own communities.”