Test Blog

There are more than 10,000 village halls across England. Most are run entirely by volunteers. They host fitness classes, post offices, doctor's surgeries, playgroups, and weddings. For many rural communities, the village hall is the only shared public space within easy reach.

In May 2022, the government announced a dedicated grant fund to mark Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee. Called the Platinum Jubilee Village Halls Fund, it was managed by the charity Action with Communities in Rural England (ACRE) and funded by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra).

The fund offered grants of between £7,500 and £75,000, covering up to 20% of a project's total capital costs. Halls had to raise the remaining 80% themselves. The money could only be spent on physical improvements — new roofs, insulation, kitchen and toilet upgrades, extensions, and energy efficiency measures.

The fund followed an earlier scheme — the Village Halls Improvement Grant — which ran from 2018 to 2021 and was worth £2.8 million. Government support for village halls is not new, but it has never been permanent.

What happens now it has closed?

The fund's final deadline for completed project work was 31 March 2026. As of June 2026, no replacement scheme has been announced by the government.

This closure comes at a particularly difficult time. Energy bills, insurance costs, and maintenance expenses have all risen sharply — often faster than the income halls generate from room hire. Many halls were depending on this fund to tackle long-overdue improvements that would make their buildings cheaper to run and more accessible.

The remaining route from ACRE is a small grants scheme of £2,000–£5,000 per hall. Useful for modest work, but not a substitute for the larger capital grants the Platinum Jubilee Fund provided.

APPLY TO THE GREAT BRITISH ENERGY COMMUNITY FUND

The government's Great British Energy Community Fund provides grants for feasibility and development work on renewable energy projects — including rooftop solar on village halls. £5 million is available in 2026, delivered through regional Net Zero Hubs. This could meaningfully reduce long-term energy bills. Search for your regional Net Zero Hub to find out how to apply.