A new £4bn Levelling Up fund for England has been unveiled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak as part of his one-year Spending Review.
All local areas in England will be able to bid for up to £20m to pay for local projects that local people want and places need. Support must include their member of parliament.
Mr Sunak said; “This is about funding the infrastructure of everyday life: a new bypass, upgraded railway stations, local road schemes, new bus lanes, more libraries, museums and galleries, and better high streets and town centres.”
Priority will be given to bids that drive growth and regeneration in places in need, those facing particular challenges, and areas that have received less government investment in recent years.
The new levelling up funding is part of a £100bn of capital spending next year and included the announcement of plans to set up an Infrastructure Bank to catalyse private investment in infrastructure projects across the UK.
Chief executive of the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, Mandip Rai said:
“The LLEP welcomes the Chancellors announcement this week. Delivering growth and jobs across Leicester and Leicestershire is our key priority and this potential investment in infrastructure will enable local communities across our region to bid for projects based on their needs.
“The LLEP has worked closely with partners to develop an Economic Recovery Plan and we’re working towards a longer-term strategy that considers priorities such as green recovery and the impact of Brexit. We will continue to promote our local sector strengths and capabilities in science, technology and innovation to ensure we take advantage of the government’s levelling up commitment.
“We want to support local projects that will aid our region’s economic recovery from the impact of Covid-19 and enable the creation of jobs and growth to benefit businesses and communities across Leicester and Leicestershire.”
Further details on the spending review 2020 can be viewed on the Gov.uk website at www.gov.uk/news/10-billion-package-to-build-more-homes-and-level-up-communities