Agenda item

Report attached.

Councillor Miles Parkinson OBE, provided an update on the progress of the Levelling Up Fund Bid, the commissioning of external consultancy work and the spend to date.

The Leader indicated that the current activities were an important step in enabling the Council to submit a bid for around £20M.  The report outlined what had been achieved so far and the costs.  He reminded Members that in the Annual Budget the Council had set aside £150k to kick-start this work.  The Council had also been designated as a Priority 1 area, which would attract an additional £120k of funding.  The expenses, as listed in the report, had to meet strict criteria.

Consultation was an important stage in the bidding process and the options which emerged would be carefully scored on what they were likely to achieve.

Councillor Paul Cox, Deputy Leader of the Council, highlighted the expenditure set out at Paragraph 3.1 of the report.  The polling of residents was a particularly important step.  The work done so far provided the necessary evidence base to support the bid.   The Council had to spend on these items in order to attract in the larger sums provided by the Fund.  Working with key stakeholders was also essential.  The preparations would need to be completed in time for the Government’s Budget, at which time it was anticipated that an announcement would be made inviting the 2^nd tranche of Levelling Up Fund bids.

Councillor Michael Miller, Joint Deputy Leader of the Conservative Group, asked if the costs listed were estimates or actual expenditure.  He referred to the highways projects which would be depend on the outcome of the consultations.  The Leader responded that some figures were estimates, as work was still in progress.  Atkins, the highways consultants used by Lancashire County Council (LCC), had been engaged to carry out the highways designs.  Hyndburn’s projects would need to be developed in collaboration with any schemes being undertaken by LCC as part of that council’s bid.  It was envisaged that LCC would prioritise work across East Lancashire.  This issue had been raised at a recent Lancashire Leaders meeting and had been supported by the Leaders of other neighbouring East Lancashire authorities.

The Levelling Up Fund bid would sit alongside further work being undertaken to develop a Town Centre Investment Plan, which would identify other funding sources for future projects.

Approval of the report was not deemed a key decision.

Reasons for Decision

The full reasons are set out in the main report, which includes information on the following matters:

• Background to the Levelling Up Fund;
• Appointment of consultants, Bradshaw Advisory Limited (BA) to lead the bidding process;
• Learning from the High Street Fund bid and identifying the town’s strengths;
• Engaging with a wide range of stakeholders (as listed in the report);
• The overarching Stakeholder Board and details of its membership;
• Timings and decision to submit a bid in Round 2;
• The brief for BA: namely the Levelling Up Fund bid and Town Centre Investment Plan;
• Levelling Up Fund priorities: smaller transport projects; town centre and high street regeneration; and cultural and heritage assets;
• Stakeholder group suggested projects (as listed in the report);
• Process for developing a Town Centre Investment Plan; and
• Costs to date.

There were no alternative options considered or reasons proposed for rejection

Resolved                                    -    That Cabinet notes the update report on the Levelling Up Fund Bid.