2025 Town and Village Renewal Scheme

Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2025 

Call for Proposals

The 2025 Town & Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) was announced on 19th March 2025 by Minister Calleary, Department of Rural and Community Development. 

The scheme is designed to support the revitalisation of rural Ireland by focusing on stimulating town centre economic and social regeneration. This will be achieved through projects which support sustainable employment creation, town centre resilience and regeneration, enhancing our streetscapes, and bringing vacant and derelict buildings and lands back into use as community multi-purpose spaces through refurbishment and renovation.

Tipperary County Council is seeking to establish the potential level of interest and the type/nature of any proposed projects that may be eligible under the scheme.

This year the scheme details may be summarised as follows:

The 2025 scheme (on the link below) 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.

A minimum of one application must be from a town or village that has not been approved for funding in last 5 years.

The works associated with all projects should be identified in relevant plans such as Town Centre First Plans, local authority County Development Plans, town and village masterplans (or similar) developed in collaboration with the local community, businesses and other relevant stakeholders in the town or village.

The following indicative list of activities (not exhaustive) will be eligible for funding under the 2025 Scheme.

• Regeneration projects that assist in revitalising and building resilience in our rural towns and villages, in line with the Town Centre First Policy, through planned and sustainable regeneration 

   

• Development projects that will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction and ensure the re-use of heritage and other existing buildings

   

• Projects to support vibrant and sustainable Gaeltacht communities and/or island communities on Ireland’s inhabited offshore island

   

• Upgrade or refurbishment to community centres (where there is a clearly identified need / rationale – an additional questionnaire applies)

   

• Support for the development of remote working facilities. Given the number of hubs supported to date, any application received which includes the establishment of a hub, must expressly demonstrate a clear demand/need for such a facility and that clear additionality will be delivered - any such applications will be required to provide information in relation to need/demand/additionality and engagement with relevant stakeholders

   

• Projects to support the establishment or regeneration of town or village centre markets (e.g. farmers’ markets, open-air markets, local trader markets, artisan markets or similar) – i.e. ground works, provision of stalls, equipment, and services provision. Markets must be built on ethical and sustainability principles to ensure longevity and must be developed with high visibility and improved public realm which will attract a high level of footfall

   

• Projects to develop town / village centre plazas, public outdoor dining spaces, parks, green spaces (including allotments and community gardens) and recreational spaces/amenities (to include outdoor sports facilities such as skate parks, basketball courts, tennis courts, etc.) in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses. Where a proposal includes a plaza, outdoor dining space, amphitheatre or similar, consideration should be given to appropriate public lighting which supports mobility, accessibility, safety and security to ensure the spaces can be used for evening and night time activities. Applications for funding will only be considered where the properties and/or lands are publicly or community owned or leased

   

• Projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of shopfronts and street facades (including murals) in towns and villages. Local authorities are encouraged to engage with local business and property owners to examine how group projects can add colour and vibrancy to main streets

   

• Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. This includes the renovation of vacant and derelict buildings or development of sites within the town or village as multi-purpose community assets. Multi-purpose use includes enterprise spaces, arts, tourism, youth hubs, parks, parklets, allotments, play areas and other community uses

• Projects that support and enhance the night-time economy in line with recommendations from the Night Time Economy Taskforce

   

• Enhancement of heritage assets (e.g. local museums/tourism attractions focused on historical aspects of the area, heritage sites/buildings, etc.) located in towns and villages, including energy efficiency measures

The Council is inviting Community & Social Enterprise groups across the county to bring forward details of any project which the Council could consider for submission to the Department of Rural and Community Development, under the criteria of the 2025 Scheme.

It is expected that the scheme will be oversubscribed and that shortlisting will need to be undertaken. The shortlisting process will refer to the terms of the scheme and the projects most likely to obtain funding will be invited to the full application stage of the process.

How to express an interest? 

Please submit your proposal for Main Scheme using the Expression of Interest form by 4.30pm on Friday 30th May 2025 by e-mail to:  townandvillage@tipperarycoco.ie 

If you are interested in the PDM application, please use PDM application form and submit your application by 4.30pm on Friday 30th May 2025 by e-mail to: townandvillage@tipperarycoco.ie 

Please address any queries to : townandvillage@tipperarycoco.ie