Farnworth on list of 55 ‘overlooked’ towns to receive £20m

The cash injection is another huge investment in the the town which is already in the middle of a multi-million pound regeneration led by Capital & Centric

The Bolton News reported this week how the town had reached a key milestone in the redevelopment of the precinct.

The Prime Minister said the new long-term vision for towns, backed by £1 billion of investment, was about putting “funding in the hands of local people” to improve their communities.

The announcement made on this weekend will see 55 towns, including seven in Scotland and four in Wales, given a £20 million endowment-style fund – each to be spent over the course of a decade.

Cllr Martyn Cox, leader of Bolton Conservative Group, said: "I am absolutely delighted that Farnworth is going to receive even more levelling up money support its regeneration.

"Bolton Conservatives have been committed in recent years to making sure our town centre benefits rom regeneration funding and Farnworth is leading the way."

It is set to be used on local priorities such as reviving high streets, tackling anti-social behaviour, improving transport, boosting visitor numbers and growing the local economy.

The investment in towns such as Grimsby in Lincolnshire, Wrexham in Wales and Dumfries in Scotland comes on the eve of the Conservative Party conference in Manchester.

Prime Minister and Tory leader 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, rundown 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.”

As part of the investment, the towns will set up a town board, bringing together community leaders, employers, local authorities and the local MP, to help deliver a plan for consultation.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said the town boards would be able to use a suite of regeneration powers while deploying the new funding.

Officials suggested more private sector investment could be unlocked by auctioning empty high street shops, reforming licensing rules on shops and restaurants, and supporting more housing in urban centres.

They said research showed communities want to see more green spaces created and market days established to enhance town centres, with policing hotspots implemented to make public spaces safer.

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.”

Ministers have promised central government support for the town boards as they formulate their vision.

A Towns Taskforce, sitting in the Department for Levelling Up and reporting directly to the Prime Minister and Mr Gove, will help them develop their plans and advise on how best to take advantage of government policies, unlock private and philanthropic investment and work with communities.

DLUHC said towns had been allocated funding according to the Levelling Up Needs Index, taking into account metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health, as well as the Index of Multiple Deprivation, to ensure funding goes directly to the towns which will benefit most.

Mr Gove’s department said the Government would work with local councils and the devolved administrations to determine how towns in Scotland and Wales will benefit from funding and powers under the proposals.

Officials said they “look forward” to working with a restored executive, with powersharing currently collapsed in Stormont, to determine the approach for providing support to Northern Ireland’s towns.

– The full list of 55 towns benefiting from £20 million of funding:

Mansfield

Boston

Worksop

Skegness

Newark-on-Trent

Chesterfield

Clifton (Nottingham)

Spalding

Kirkby-in-Ashfield

Clacton-on-Sea

Great Yarmouth

Eston

Jarrow

Washington

Blyth (Northumberland)

Hartlepool

Spennymoor

Darwen

Chadderton

Heywood

Ashton-under-Lyne

Accrington

Leigh (Wigan)

Farnworth

Nelson (Pendle)

Kirkby

Burnley

Hastings

Bexhill-on-Sea

Ryde

Torquay

Smethwick

Darlaston

Bilston (Wolverhampton)

Dudley

Grimsby

Castleford

Doncaster

Rotherham

Barnsley

Scunthorpe

Keighley

Dewsbury

Scarborough

Merthyr Tydfil

Cwmbrân

Wrexham

Barry (Vale of Glamorgan)

Greenock

Irvine

Kilmarnock

Coatbridge

Clydebank

Dumfries

Elgin