Development Trusts NI

21/08/2026

We’re recruiting: HR Management Apprentice

Development Trusts NI is offering an opportunity to begin a career in HR while gaining practical experience and studying towards Ulster University’s BSc (Hons) Human Resource Management Degree Apprenticeship.

The role offers:
• A starting salary of £28,000
• Four days of practical work and one protected study day each week
• University tuition fees paid
• Broad experience across HR, membership, CRM, projects, events and organisational development

No previous HR experience is required. We’re looking for someone organised, curious, interested in people and ready to learn.

Based in Belfast. Applications close Tuesday 1 September 2026.

https://www.dtni.org.uk/join-dtni-as-an-hr-management-apprentice/

Four days helping a purpose-led organisation work effectively and grow. One protected study day each week. A starting salary of £28,000—and a BSc (Hons)

19/08/2026

Two Community Asset Transfer opportunities are currently open for expressions of interest in Belfast and Fermanagh:

• Land at 98–152 Forthriver Road, Belfast — deadline 4 September
• 6 Tirwinny Road, Lack, Fermanagh — deadline 8 September

Community Asset Transfer gives organisations an opportunity to explore how publicly owned land and buildings could be brought into productive community use, creating new opportunities and a sustainable future for local assets.

We’ve brought the details of both opportunities together, along with a short explanation of the EOI process and a way to receive future DTNI updates.

Find out more: https://www.dtni.org.uk/two-community-asset-transfer-opportunities-currently-open/

Two Community Asset Transfer (CAT) opportunities are currently open for expressions of interest in Belfast and Fermanagh.

11/08/2026

Community ownership should be central to the delivery of Northern Ireland’s £27.4 million Local Growth Fund.

DTNI welcomes the announcement and its potential to support inclusive regional growth. We now need clarity about how communities and social enterprises can participate—and how the fund will help communities acquire, regenerate and sustainably manage the buildings and land that matter locally.

As Margaret Craig, DTNI’s Head of Operations and Development, says:

“Community-led businesses are rooted in place and trusted by local people. They can reach those furthest from the labour market, create accessible pathways into skills and employment, and play a vital role in tackling economic inactivity.”

Read our response:https://www.dtni.org.uk/community-ownership-must-be-central-to-local-growth-fund-delivery/

The allocation of £27.4 million from the Local Growth Fund has been announced, with funding directed towards projects intended to support regional growth

07/08/2026

Crewe United ⚽ and Loch Mór Dál gCais are working together on a shared soccer, hurling and community hub near Glenavy.

Development Trusts NI supported the clubs in establishing Ballypitmave Community Development Trust, which subsequently secured £300,000 from the Community Ownership Fund and purchased land adjoining Crewe United’s existing grounds.

It’s a powerful example of what can happen when organisations begin with a shared community need rather than what divides them.

(There still isn’t a hurling or camogie emoji— so please imagine one.)

https://www.dtni.org.uk/sporting-cooperation-in-glenavy-shows-community-ownership-in-action-2/

Sport can be a powerful way of bringing people together. Near Glenavy, two clubs from different sporting traditions are taking that cooperation

06/08/2026

The new Local Growth Fund represents an important opportunity to support inclusive and sustainable growth across Northern Ireland.

In our response to the Northern Ireland Office consultation on its delivery and governance, DTNI recommends a dedicated Community Ownership, Community Asset Development and Community Wealth Building strand.

We would like to see communities across Northern Ireland given meaningful opportunities to bring forward ideas, develop assets and build wealth locally. A dedicated strand would help ensure that community-led projects can play a full part in the fund and contribute to its wider ambitions.

Read a digested version of our submission and key recommendations: https://www.dtni.org.uk/local-growth-fund-delivery-and-governance/

If you’d like to know more, please get in touch.

The Local Growth Fund is an opportunity to pick up where the Community Ownership Fund left off and to create a Northern Ireland-specific approach to community

31/07/2026

Portrush Metropole Project reaches major milestone with masterplan study.

A major milestone has been reached in the long-running campaign to create a dedicated urban sports and community facility at Metropole Park, Portrush, with Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council and Causeway Association of Urban Sports (CAUS) announcing that a masterplan study will begin in August.

Current proposals include a purpose-designed plaza for wheeled urban sports, a multi-sport pump track and off-road BMX facility, flexible community space and new play provision, brought together within a cohesive public space.

Development Trusts NI is proud to have supported CAUS in recent years, including investing in the work needed to help the organisation reach this important milestone. The project is a powerful example of a community-led and community-owned initiative, creatively reimagining public land to meet local needs and create lasting benefit.

Read more: https://www.dtni.org.uk/portrush-metropole-park-caus/

A major milestone has been reached in the long-running campaign to create a dedicated urban sports and community facility at Metropole Park, Portrush, with

27/07/2026

A £1 billion plan to unlock the power of community ownership. A new report from Locality and Power to Change has been published.https://www.dtni.org.uk/a-1-billion-community-ownership/

Thriving high streets, connected communities and growing local economies. Those are the goals. Community ownership and community wealth building are among the

28/06/2026

You wait ages for a Planner and then two come along at once …

Comhghairdeas Fintan.

25/06/2026

Programme for Government & Partnership Agreement with the Voluntary and Community Sector and # The Local Growth Fund NI (LGF)

The LGF should be explicitly aligned with the Northern Ireland (NI) Executive’s Programme for Government (PfG) 2024–2027, and with the Partnership Agreement between Government and the Voluntary and Community Sector in Northern Ireland (the Partnership Agreement).

The PfG demonstrates that productivity and participation cannot be separated from wider social, environmental and public service conditions. People’s ability to participate in the workforce is shaped by childcare, health, housing, transport, community safety, access to services, environmental resilience and the availability of local opportunities. Likewise, productivity depends not only on business growth and innovation, but also on skills, infrastructure, good jobs, decarbonisation, regional balance and public service reform.

DTNI members work across these priorities. They deliver services, manage community assets, operate social enterprises, provide routes into volunteering and work, support women and children affected by violence, provide rural transport, promote health and wellbeing, support young people, develop community-led housing and regeneration projects, and contribute to environmental sustainability. The LGF should therefore recognise development trusts, community associations and social/community enterprises as strategic delivery partners in achieving both LGF and PfG outcomes.

The Partnership Agreement recognises the distinctive role of the sector, its contribution to the social, economic, environmental and cultural life of NI, and its role as a key partner in the delivery of public services. It also recognises the sector’s independence and its right to participate, advocate, challenge and inform public policy.

The LGF must also be designed in accordance with the Fair Funding Principles set out in the Partnership Agreement. Funding arrangements should be collaborative, fair, proportionate, outcomes-focused, impactful, responsive, agile and flexible. In practical terms, this requires full-cost recovery, realistic delivery timescales, proportionate application and monitoring processes, multi-year funding where appropriate, early communication on funding changes, and recognition of social, economic and environmental value.

Community organisations cannot deliver sustainable productivity, workforce participation, regional balance and public value through insecure, short-term or under-costed funding. If the LGF is to achieve its stated priorities. it must invest in the sector on fair terms, recognising both its delivery role and its long-term contribution to community wealth building, local ownership and public service transformation.

Trust Enterprise Company

11/06/2026

Big news for community empowerment! Sian Gwenllian, Welsh Cabinet Minister for Local Government, Housing and Planning, has announced Plaid Cymru’s plan to introduce a Community Right to Buy Bill—calling thriving communities “the lifeblood of our nation.” This Bill will make it easier for local people to bring valued community assets—like buildings and land for housing—into community ownership.

This follows the recent English Devolution and Community Empowerment Act 2026 and builds on Scotland’s pioneering legislation. Across the UK, momentum is growing for community ownership and local empowerment.

But here in Northern Ireland, despite 15+ years of policy support, we’re still waiting for the basic rights: the Right to Own, the Right to Challenge, and the Right to Participate. Community anchor organisations are the backbone of regeneration, economic growth, and social justice in NI. They deserve equal recognition, legal rights, and political support to continue their vital work.

It’s time for Northern Ireland to catch up. And why? Because 'We're Right Here' (https://www.right-here.org)

We need a Community Rights and Empowerment (NI) Act—now. Let’s give our communities the power they deserve!