The government has awarded £6m worth of new funding for a programme to support local groups to use Community Rights and to take over and manage local assets.

Contracts have been won by a large number of local charities. The main winners are Locality, Co-operatives UK and The Community Development Foundation (CDF).

Contracts include management and support of the use of a new set of Community Rights introduced in the Localism Act 2012, as well as responsibility for advice services, economic development and grant giving.

DCLG said the funding will “help more local groups run key community assets, employing local people, keeping money circulating within their neighbourhood’s economy and providing valuable services for their communities.”

Locality chief executive Tony Armstrong said: “thanks to this new DCLG contract, we are able to continue and expand our support and our dedicated and knowledgeable team will help more and more communities gain control of their neighbourhood’s future by taking over and running their much-loved local buildings.”

Stephen Williams MP, who made the announcement yesterday, said that the extra monies would supplement the £22.5m worth of funding already made available since the scheme begun in 2012.

“The 3,000 uses of the rights so far is proof that communities are revolutionising the way their neighbourhoods work and this further commitment will ensure the Community Rights movement goes from strength to strength.”

The government, Locality and its partner organisations are hoping for the new funding to help them to offer COMA programme to an extra 150 communities.