More government money for towns across the region

Published by

Nicky Godding

Hot on the heels of last week's announcement from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport of £95 million to help UK towns revitalise their high streets, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has now pitched in with £80 million to share between more than 100 towns in England to kick start regeneration projects and give areas a boost.

Towns across the region to benefit from this latest funding include Hereford, Nuneaton, Redditch, Swindon and Worcester.

This funding, which ranges from £500,000 to up to £1 million per town, will be used to support projects that will make a difference to the area, such as new green spaces, the creation of pop-up businesses spaces, pedestrianising streets to encourage walking or cycling and creating of new community hubs to support those living alone.

Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick said: "Our Towns Fund will help to share prosperity across the country and level-up.

"It will give towns the opportunity to drive economic growth and improve prospects for their communities, which will be vital as the country respond to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. We are fully behind our high streets and will support local areas to build back better."

These funds are part of the overall £3.6 billion Towns Fund money allocated - with this initial pot shared out now to get some projects off the ground and give local areas the boost they need.

All 101 towns selected to work towards a Town Deal were given a funding allocation with proposals submitted to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government in August, before being reviewed by officials and a final decision made by ministers.

On 27 July 2019 the Prime Minister announced that the £3.6 billion Towns Fund would support an initial 101 town deals across England.

A Town Deal is an agreement in principle between government, the Lead Council and the Town Deal Board. It will set out a vision and strategy for the town, and what each party agrees to do to achieve this vision.

Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe. After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts. She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.