Town Centre Living Initiative
Updated: 08 Feb 2012
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Many town centres in Northern Ireland are seen as places which have too many empty buildings and are only 'alive' during shopping hours. At the same time, more and more people are interested in the idea of living in the centre of towns. A number of councils have realised that they can bring town centres back to life in the evenings and weekends if more people come to live in them.
We have responded by introducing Town Centre Living Initiative Areas. This concept is based on the Living Over the Shops (LOTS) scheme. Town Centre Living Initiative Areas have been declared in a number of towns where the local council has a regeneration strategy that includes the promotion of town centre living.
We have responded by introducing Town Centre Living Initiative Areas. This concept is based on the Living Over the Shops (LOTS) scheme. Town Centre Living Initiative Areas have been declared in a number of towns where the local council has a regeneration strategy that includes the promotion of town centre living.
The aim of the scheme
Town Centre Living Initiative Areas are designed to encourage the regeneration of town centres by bringing private rented housing back to the areas. We offer grant aid to encourage landlords to convert vacant or underused buildings into apartments often leaving the ground floor as a shop or office.
Within Town Centre Living Initiative Areas we can give landlords grant aid to:
- convert upper floors of shop or office buildings into flats
- convert commercial properties into flats or houses
- renovate existing flats or houses
Grant aid is also available to owner occupiers.
