Changes to regeneration scheme announced

Changes are being made to a government initiative aimed at boosting economic activity in Manx towns and villages.

Officials have announced alterations to the Town and Village Regeneration Scheme which look to encourage and accelerate improvements to commercial and community premises and also support local authorities to improve public infrastructure.

The Scheme, which originally launched in 2009, has invested over £13.4 million into 223 regeneration projects.

It was relaunched in 2019 and has since supported a further 14 regeneration projects to date.

Under the changes, the requirement for businesses to be located within a designated ‘Regeneration Area’ has been removed allowing all commercial properties directly accessible from a public highway to be eligible.

Also, the amount eligible businesses can apply for has been increased from a maximum of £10,000 per project up to £25,000 per project - meanwhile, local businesses can receive up to 50% of funding towards their projects, with local authorities now being able to claim up to 80%.

The alterations to the scheme will be in place for one year, after which it will revert back to its initial offering of 50% of funding to both businesses and local authorities capped at £10,000 after October 2021.