First wave of Towns Deal winners announced

The government has announced the first seven areas in England which will benefit from its Town Deals fund.

Barrow-in-Furness, Blackpool, Darlington, Peterborough, Norwich, Torquay and Warrington are the first of 101 places to be offered a Town Deal and work will now begin with these areas to confirm final funding.

The deals include £39.5m to be used to update the Blackpool Illuminations and to support the development of the Blackpool Airport Enterprise Zone.

Torquay will get £21.9m to modernise its town centre, while Peterborough will receive £22.9m investment for Peterborough to lay the groundwork for low carbon living.

And Warrington will receive £22.1m for town centre improvements.

Further Town Deals are due to be announced next month (November).

The funding comes from the £3.6bn Towns Fund, which was first announced in July 2019.

‘We are unlocking the full potential of towns and communities, giving them the support that they need to thrive and the seven Towns Fund Deals that I am announcing today mark the start of locally designed regeneration projects across the country,’ said housing secretary, Robert Jenrick.

‘Backed by £180m, we are boosting skills, job creation and connectivity in these seven towns – providing investment and confidence at a crucial time for these communities.’

The leader of Warrington Borough Council, Cllr Russ Bowden, said: ‘I am delighted to see that we have been successful in securing this level of funding for our town centre, which will help us to deliver a string of truly transformative projects.

‘Whilst the sum awarded is a little less than the £26m we initially bid for, we are happy with this funding award, especially in the current climate. It’s great news for Warrington and will give our economy a real shot in the arm at a crucial time.’

The leader of Norwich City Council, Cllr Ian Waters added: ‘This is a significant investment in Norwich at a time when we need to plan for the future of the city and its recovery.

‘This gives us the opportunity to rethink our approach to achieving our ambitions as part of Norwich 2040 City Vision and allows us to look at our long term future regionally, nationally and internationally.

‘The £25m will help to fund clean growth and ensure our residents are equipped with the skills of the future, have access to good jobs with fair pay and progression, and are better connected to our growth sectors.’

And the leader of Blackpool Council, Cllr Lynn Williams commented: ‘The proposals that we put forward during the summer set out a very clear vision of what we wanted from the Towns Fund in terms of delivering a range of projects capable of having a transformational effect on our local economy.

‘The scale of the award demonstrates that the government has confidence that our plans can drive growth and create jobs. We look forward to working with government on the detail within the proposals so we can build a brighter future for our town and our residents.’

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