October 1, 2023, 11:12am
More than 50 ‘overlooked’ towns across the UK will each be given £20 million to improve their high streets and tackle anti-social behavior.
The £1.1bn pot will be distributed over 10 years, allowing local authorities to plan their spending over the long term.
The funding could be spent on local priorities such as revitalizing town centres, tackling anti-social behavior, improving transport, increasing visitor numbers and growing the local economy.
The announcement was made ahead of the Conservative Party conference, which begins on Sunday. Of the seats that received funding, 34 are Conservative-held seats and 16 are in Labor constituencies. The other five are his SNP MPs.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said: ‘Cities are where most of us call home and where most of us go to work. Yet politicians always take cities for granted and focus on them. I guessed it.
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“The result is half-empty high streets, dilapidated shopping centers and anti-social behavior that undermines the prosperity of many towns and hinders opportunities for people, and without new approaches these problems will continue to grow. is only going to get worse.
“Today, that changes. Our city long-term plan provides funding for local people to invest in the long term, in line with their own priorities. That’s how we level up.”
Towns awarded funding will establish a town committee that includes community leaders, employers, local government, and local legislators to develop and then consult.
Officials said they could further increase private sector investment by auctioning off vacant high street stores, reforming licensing rules for shops and restaurants and providing more support for housing in city centres. It was suggested that there is a sex.
They say research shows communities will see security hotspots introduced to make public spaces safer, more green spaces created to strengthen city centers and city days established. He said he hopes so.
Ministers said funding would be allocated to each town according to a Need Level Index, which takes into account indicators covering skills, pay, productivity and health, as well as an index of multiple deprivation, to ensure funding goes directly to the towns that benefit most. He said that
Level Up Secretary Michael Gove said: ‘We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, hard work and quiet patriotism are passed down through the generations. For too long, many of Britain’s great towns have been overlooked and undervalued.
“We are doing this through our City Long Term Plan, backed by over £1 billion of equalization funding.
“This will enable communities in every region of the UK to take back control of their future and make long-term decisions that take into account the interests of local people. It means more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for the people who live there and work there.”
Complete list of cities awarded £20m
mansfield
boston
worksop
Skegness
newark on trent
chesterfield
Clifton (Nottingham)
spalding
kirkby in ashfield
clacton on sea
great yarmouth
eston
Jarrow
Washington
Blyth (Northumberland)
hartlepool
Spennymoor
darwen
chaderton
haywood
ashton under rhyne
accrington
Leigh (Wigan)
Farnworth
Nelson (Pendle)
kirkby
burnley
hastings
Bexhill-on-Sea
ride
talkie
smethwick
darlaston
Bilston (Wolverhampton)
Dudley (Dudley)
grimsby
castleford
doncaster
Rotherham
barnsley
Scunthorpe
keithley
Dewsbury
scarborough
merthyr tydfil
Cwmbran
Wrexham
Barry (Valley of Glamorgan)
greenock
irvine
kilmarnock
court bridge
clydebank
dumfries
elgin