Big Lottery fund announces new £150 million "Power to Change"

The Big Lottery Fund has announced that it will launch a new £150 million fund to support the development of sustainable community-led enterprises. The fund aims to respond to the many economic challenges facing local communities – challenges that have led to empty shop premises and the closures of pubs, libraries, community centres and sports facilities.

The fund wants to support communities to come together using creative approaches that involve local people and resources to improve their local neighbourhoods, villages and town centres. These could take many different forms from small-scale enterprise to large-scale asset management and ownership. Solutions have already included pop-up shops, transferring resources into the ownership of local residents, and using former commercial spaces to incubate social enterprises and cultural activities.

The fund will be delivered by an independent Trust and launched in the autumn 2014.

For more information visit http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/england/power-to-change/