The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has announced that towns across the country are to benefit from major investment, as part of a plan to develop places that have previously been overlooked.
Through £1.1 billion worth of levelling up funding, 55 towns are to be allocated funding that will allow them to develop a long-term plan. This will be done through the support of a Towns Board, as well as collaboration between government and local authorities and the devolved administrations too ensure that new funding and power benefits forgotten towns in the long-term.
Local people and decision-makers are to be put in charge of how the funding will be used, with towns being given the following:
- £20 million of funding as part of a ten-year endowment-style investment that will be allocated for local priorities such as the regeneration of high streets and town centres, or the securing of public safety.
- The establishment of a Town Board to ensure that community leaders, employers, local authorities, and the local MP can come together to deliver the Long-Term Plan for the town, as well as making sure that local people are consulted.
- The ability to utilise a suite of new regeneration powers to help unlock more private investment by auctioning empty high street spaces, reforming licencing rules on shops and restaurants, as well as supporting the development of more town centre housing.
This announcement shows a change in the approach to towns, that the government hope will put an end to people feeling like they are being ignored by Westminster, whilst also giving communities the power to take control of their future.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said:
“Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities.
“The result is the half-empty high-streets, run down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse.
“That changes today. Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the fans of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”
As part of the government’s plan to level up the nation, more power and funding is being handed to local decision-makers, as they know the unique priorities that their areas need to address, as well as what is best for local people.
Michael Gove, Levelling Up Secretary, added:
“We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, endeavour and quiet patriotism have endured across generations. But for too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued.
“We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1 billion of levelling up funding.
“This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them.”
Town boards will be used to help the long-term plan for each town develop, with the funding being closely linked to the issues that matter most to people. According to research, these priorities are:
- The improvement of transport and connections to ensure that travel is easier for residents, as well as increasing the number of visitors in town centres to boost opportunity.
- Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour to keep residents safe, whilst also encouraging visitors through increased security measures and hotspot policing.
- The enhancement of town centres to make them more attractive and accessible, with this including the repurposing of empty shops for new housing, the creation of green spaces and cleaning up streets.
Alongside towns in England and Wales, seven Scottish towns will benefit from the funding, with the UK Government providing the investment and then going on to collaborate with local authorities and the Scottish Government. Alistar Jack, Scottish Secretary, said:
“I wholeheartedly welcome the launch of the UK Government’s Long Term Plan for Towns. It’s great to see that seven Scottish towns will benefit from £20 million each from the latest round of levelling up funding which so far has seen us invest more than £2.4 billion right across Scotland to help grow our economy and level up the country.
“I look forward to seeing these towns – and the communities within them – use this investment to breathe new life into the places where they live, work and play.”
