Newcastle-under-Lyme has been chosen to work with the Government to develop innovative regeneration plans which could unlock millions of pounds of investment.
The capital investment will come out of the Government’s £3.6 billion Towns Fund, which ministers say will help regenerate places with a ‘proud industrial heritage’ which have fallen behind more prosperous areas.
Kidsgrove is among 100 places which have been invited to develop proposals for “Town Deals”, Council Leader Simon Tagg is delighted with the announcement and has welcomed news that both Newcastle and Kidsgrove could be in line for significant Whitehall support from the fund.
He said: “We have taken every opportunity to make the Government aware of our need for support to breathe new life into our towns. We have put the health of our towns at the heart of our strategy for the borough. Those messages are clearly getting through and now we are going to look at how we can unlock resources from this new Towns Fund to benefit our borough’s two towns.
“As further details of this potential funding are confirmed we will make sure we get as much of this £3.6 billion pot as we can to support our work in taking Newcastle and Kidsgrove forward.”
Local Government Secretary Robert Jenrick has said locations eligible for support from the Towns Fund “include places with proud industrial and economic heritage but have not always benefitted from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas.”
He said that communities, businesses and local leaders will now join forces to draw-up ambitious plans to transform their town’s economic growth prospects.
The Government has said it will “soon publish” a prospectus to guide locations through the funding process and set eligibility criteria.
Once approved, it is anticipated that new Town Deals will improve broadband connectivity, provide vital social and cultural infrastructure and boost growth – with communities having a say on how the money is spent.
Cllr. Tagg said: “The fact that both of our town centres have been recognised among the 100 locations revealed in the Government’s list is very welcome. We are now firmly in the running as potential recipients for funding from the Government could well mean a huge boost for our area and we are eagerly awaiting the release of the funding prospectus. Once that is available we will be working hard to ensure we tap into the maximum amount of money we possibly can for our two towns.”
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