Town and Village Renewal Scheme

The 2026 Town and Village Renewal 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.

Funding under this Call for Proposals will be made available for projects which can be submitted under two headings:

1) the Main Scheme where grant funding for projects will range from €50,000 to €500,000;

2) applications made under the Project Development Measure with funding of up to €50,000 available per project

The 2026 scheme is targeted at four 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.
• Category 4: Pilot ‘Urban Towns’: 2026 TVRS Pilot For Larger Urban Towns. The focus of 2026 TVRS will remain on smaller towns and villages. However, to support the community infrastructure needs in those local authority areas which have towns and villages within larger urban areas, the 2026 Scheme will operate a pilot urban town initiative. This will facilitate applications for project proposals which are clearly centrally located within the boundaries of traditional town and village centres in such urban areas even where the population of the wider urban area may exceed those accommodated in Categories 1 to 3 above. This pilot initiative is targeted at traditional urban towns and villages located within our urban and metropolitan areas.

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.

The following indicative list of activities (not exhaustive) will be eligible for funding under the 2026 Scheme (please see Scheme Outline for full details).

• 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. Upgrade or refurbishment to community centres (where there is a clearly identified need / rationale – an additional questionnaire applies10).
• Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces. This includes the renovation of such buildings or the 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.
• 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.

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

• The minimum grant made available under the Main Scheme will be €50,000.
• The maximum level of grant made available under the Main Scheme will be €500,000 in respect of one application from each local authority.
• A funding ceiling of €300,000 will apply in respect of a further three Main Scheme applications per local authority.
• The maximum grant level available under the Project Development Measure is €50,000 (two 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.
• Final funding approval is decided by the funder (Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht)

The closing date for submission of Expressions of Interest is Friday 27^th November 2026 at 12pm. If you are interested in applying to the Scheme, please read the attached Scheme Outline fully and complete the attached 2026 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 or Project Development Measure.

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 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 and the Gaeltacht for further consideration.

If you have any queries in relation to the 2026 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, please email funding@louthcoco.ie