Five Greater Lincolnshire Towns to Benefit from £1 billion of Government Funding

Five towns in our region will be given the opportunity to develop a long-term plan supported by a Towns Board which include Boston, Skegness, Spalding, Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

Under the new approach, local people, not Whitehall-based politicians, will be put in charge, and given the tools to change their town’s long-term future. They will:   

• Receive a ten-year £20 million endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.    
• Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers, local authorities, and the local MP, to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.   
• Use a suite of regeneration powers to unlock more private sector investment by auctioning empty high street shops, reforming licensing rules on shops and restaurants, and supporting more housing in town centres.     

More than half the population live in towns, but half-empty high streets, run-down town centres and anti-social behaviour undermine towns in every part of the UK. Today’s announcement marks a change in approach that will put an end to people feeling like their town is ignored by Westminster and empower communities to take back control of their future, taking long term decisions in the interests of local people.   

This plan builds on the government’s central mission to level up the UK by putting more power and money in the hands of people who know their areas best to build a brighter future for their community, creating bespoke initiatives that will spark the regeneration needed.    

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: 

"Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities.  

"The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse.  

"That changes today. Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up."

Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove said:    

"We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, endeavour and quiet patriotism have endured across generations. But for too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued.  

"We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1 billion of levelling up funding.   

"This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long term decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them."

The Long-Term Plan for Towns will require town boards to develop their own long-term plan for their town, with funding over 10 years and aligned to the issues that research shows people want the most. You can read the article in full here.