Wirral Council to speed up urban regeneration with levelling up pilot projects
The local authority has become one of 10 councils taking part in the new scheme that will provide more government funding to help revitalise areas in England.
Last week it was announced that Wirral Council could be the next local authority to take part in a new levelling up pilot that has been set up by the Department for Levelling up, Housing and Communities. The new scheme intends to streamline funding from the government for councils to help them speed up urban regeneration and levelling up programmes without having to worry too much about money.
One of the reasons Wirral has been selected for the new project is because the council have received funding from three different government sources including the Levelling Up, Town Deal, and Future High Street funds.
An example of this is a £70m investment that went into Birkenhead as well as £3.2m for New Ferry following the 2017 explosion.
Against this backdrop, should Wirral decide to become a part of the project, the three government funding programmes will be turned into one funding pot with the government tracking investment into an area as a whole rather than monitoring individual projects. Going forward, Wirral would only need government approval for funding if they made any substantial changes to projects worth over £5m.
In addition, councillors are also recommended to delegate control of regeneration projects to the director of regeneration and place, Dave Hughes, for any change in funds up to £1.5m. Any changes above £1.5m, but below £5m would go to councillors for approval.
Paul Stuart, Wirral Council leader, said: ‘Being invited to join the small number of councils selected for this pilot project shows how our regeneration work in Wirral is being recognised around the country and at the very highest levels of government.
‘Taking part in this pilot will help reduce bureaucracy and give greater ability to make decisions locally to ensure we are able to deliver the regeneration the people of Wirral want and need, bringing more prosperity to the borough, boosting the economy and inward investment, and making this borough an even better place to live, bring up families and to visit.’
Image: Tobias Wilden
Housing design specialists set to lead a new Kent regeneration scheme
