Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2026

Sligo County Council invites Expressions of Interest for the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2026.

Community and voluntary groups in Sligo are invited to submit expressions of interests for the following Town and Village Renewal Schemes funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, underpinned by the Our Rural Future, and Town Centre First policies.

Projects submitted under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme must be in a town or village centre. Preferably, the proposed project should already be identified in a community plan, Town Centre First Plan or Sustainable Communities Plan or similar.

It is important to note that the 2026 scheme includes a new pilot urban town initiative. This means towns and villages within larger urban areas may be eligible to apply and submit an Express of Interest where previously they were not. 

The Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2026 is now open for Expressions of Interest under the Main Scheme and the Project Development Measure.

Community groups, business and local stakeholders are invited forward project ideas that will:

• drive town centre regeneration; 
• support town/village centre plaza development; 
• develop green spaces / recreational amenities in town or village centres; 
• enhance streetscapes; 
• support town or village centre markets, e.g. farmer’s markets or artisan markets; 
• support the provision of infrastructure (e.g. public realm works, service provisions, canopies etc.) to facilitate town or village centre markets (e.g. farmers markets, open-air markets, local trader markets, artisan markets or similar); 
• upgrade / refurbish community centres; 
• bring vacant and derelict buildings back into use as multi-purpose community spaces; 

Funding Options:

The TVRS 2026 Scheme will be delivered through the following measures which communities can apply for:

Main Scheme: For large-scale projects that will deliver tangible, long-term benefits – grant funding for projects will range from €50,000 to €500,000. 

Project Development Measure: For early-stage projects requiring feasibility studies, design work, planning to establish well-developed regeneration projects which might subsequently progress to construction stage, subject to the availability of funding – grant funding of up to €50,000 available.

Up to 95% of the total cost of a project under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme may be provided for any individual project.

Communities should also demonstrate if they have fund raised and have match funding in place along with planning permission where applicable. 

Completed Expression of Interest forms must be submitted in Word format only; PDF submissions will not be accepted. Forms may be submitted by email to cdt@sligococo.ie or by post to the Capital Delivery Team, Sligo County Council, City Hall, Quay Street, Sligo, F91 PP44.

Closing date for expressions of interest is 4pm on Friday 20^th November 2026.

Expressions of Interest received after the closing date will not be considered.

Applicants are strongly advised to read the Scheme Outline prior to completing the Expression of Interest for 2026 schemes.

For clarification:

Project Development Measure 

The Project Development Measure (PDM) will provide up to €50,000 per project. The purpose of the PDM is to assist local authorities to establish a pipeline of significant, well-developed projects which could subsequently be quickly and efficiently progressed to construction stage, subject to the availability of further funding. 

A single PDM application should include the development costs e.g. detailed design, preparation for the planning and/or procurement, appropriate assessments etc, feasibility study in respect of one single future strategic medium to large scale project. It should be noted that the approval of funding under this category does not automatically guarantee future support under the TVRS for delivery of the emerging project – the resulting projects will need to be submitted as normal under the competitive TVRS process. 

The maximum grant level has been set at 95% of the total cost of a PDM to a maximum of €50,000.