Rishi Sunak used the Budget to resurrect an exciting proposal which featured in the 2019 Government manifesto i.e. the plan to create a new £150 million Community Ownership Fund. Many people, myself included, had assumed that it would be regarded as too much of a ‘nice to have’ given the COVID-19 pandemic and a need to prioritise spending.

But it’s great news that this idea now finds its place in the suite of funds (alongside the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Renewal Fund) aimed at rejuvenating local areas. At some point, someone will do a very interesting Venn diagram which shows how each of these funds interact and cross over with each other - but in the meantime I want to focus on community ownership.