Five Lincolnshire towns are on a list of 55 revealed by the Government who’ll share in a £1.1 billion levelling up investment as part of a long-term plan for towns that have been overlooked and taken for granted.
Under the new approach people in Boston, Skegness, Spalding, Grimsby, and Scunthorpe, rather than Whitehall-based politicians, will be put in charge, and given the tools to change their town’s long-term future. They will:
- Receive a ten-year £20 million endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.
- Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers, local authorities, and the local MP, to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.
- Use a suite of regeneration powers to unlock more private sector investment by auctioning empty high street shops, reforming licensing rules on shops and restaurants, and supporting more housing in town centres.
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 hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “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 term 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.”
Long-Term Plan for Towns will require town boards to develop their own long-term plan for their town, with funding over 10 years and aligned to the issues that research shows people want the most, including:
- Improving transport and connections to make travel easier for residents and increase visitor numbers in centres to boost opportunities for small businesses and create jobs
- Tackling crime and anti social behaviour to keep residents safe and encourage visitors through better security measures and hotspot policing
- Enhancing town centres to make high streets more attractive and accessible, including repurposing empty shops for new housing, creating more green spaces, cleaning up streets or running market days
Local people will be at the heart of decisions, through direct membership of a new Towns Board, which will include community groups, MPs, businesses, cultural and sports organisations, public sector agencies and local authorities for each town and through a requirement to engage local people on the long-term plan for each town.
These Town Boards will have direct government support in addition to the funding and powers they receive through Long-Term Plan for Towns, and will be required to engage local people on their long-term plan.
The government has also announced a new ‘Towns Taskforce, sitting in the Department for Levelling Up and reporting directly to the Prime Minister and Levelling Up Secretary. This will help town boards to develop their plans, and advise them on how best to take advantage of government policies, unlock private and philanthropic investment and work with communities.
A new ‘High Streets and Towns Task Force’ will also be established, building on the success of the existing version, providing each selected town with bespoke, hands-on support.
