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2:33 PM 8th June 2021
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Thirty Towns To Share £725m To Help Communities Build Back Better

 
Photo: waldopepper
Photo: waldopepper
Thirty towns in England will share over £700 million to boost their local economies, create jobs and help them build back better from the pandemic.

These new Towns Deals range from seaside towns like Hastings and Hartlepool to the historic market towns of Bedford and Bishop Auckland.

The money will help them to grow their local economies, while also carving out new opportunities to reshape the look and feel of their areas.

The Deals will help breathe new life into neglected areas or unused buildings by creating vibrant spaces for businesses, community events or much needed new homes.

Projects also include renovations to attractions like Hastings Castle helping to boost the cultural and tourism offers of towns.

Sustainability is at the heart of many of the schemes with new greener transport infrastructure including cycle paths and pedestrian walkways that will connect areas in the greenest way possible.

The Deals will also create thousands of jobs, with many towns investing in opportunities to improve skills through new vocational training hubs that will support high skilled and higher paid jobs in the area for local people.

The Towns Across The North Funding Amount:

Bishop Auckland £33.2m
Brighouse £19.1m
Cleator Moor £22.5m
Dewsbury £24.8m
Doncaster £24.8m
Goole £25m
Hartlepool £25m
Keighley £33.6m
Oldham £24.4m
Redcar £25m
Rotherham £31.6m
Shipley £25m

These landmark deals will see hundreds of millions of pounds invested in projects across England including:

Doncaster will use its £24.8 million of investment to upgrade Doncaster Station Gateway and its surroundings by creating greener transport options such as cycle lanes and walking routes. The money will also be used to provide high-quality and attractive commercial space, boosting investment and increasing footfall to the town centre.

Hartlepool will invest part of its £25m deal in a new Health and Care Academy and a Civil Engineering Institute to boost local skills as part of plans to support more higher-skilled, higher-paid jobs in the local area.

Communities Secretary Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP said:
"We are levelling up towns and cities across the country by building stronger and more resilient local economies, boosting prosperity and opportunity in our communities, and helping them build back better from the pandemic.

Today I am announcing new town deals in 30 areas, backed by over £725m investment from the Towns Fund. This will support locally-led projects to transform disused buildings and public spaces, deliver new green transport and create new opportunities for people to develop new skills. This is a boost for communities and businesses across England."

Today’s announcement means that 83 Towns Deals have now been agreed - totalling over £2bn investment in communities across England.

This is part of comprehensive action by the government to level up opportunity and prosperity across all areas of the country, including through the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund, the £220m Community Renewal Fund and the £830m Future High Streets Fund.

Building successful, thriving communities is at the heart of the government’s levelling up agenda. As well as creating town centres that people want to work, rest and play in, the government is delivering the homes that people need where they need them, making home ownership a reality for many young people and key workers in the places they want to live. Last Friday the government announced the First Homes programme which provides a 30% discount to first time buyers.