- Burnley allocated £150,000 to place a bid for up to £20 million of funding from the Levelling Up Fund
- £20,000 allocated to allow for a bid for upto £3 million of funding from the Community Renewal Fund
- Burnley placed in Priority Group 1 for both schemes.
Burnley and Padiham could potentially be in for a huge levelling up windfall of up to £23 million to support regenerating the borough in what Antony Higginbotham MP is calling “his mission to level up Burnley and Padiham”.
Through both the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Renewal Fund local councils, working with the Member of Parliament and other stakeholders, can apply for funding which would see major investment brought in to the area for a range of projects.
The Levelling Up Fund, which is worth up to £20 million is intended to support investment in places where it can make the biggest difference to everyday life, including ex-industrial areas like Burnley and Padiham. It is shaped by local stakeholders who all work to create a bid for how the borough could be improved with the funding.
The Community Renewal Fund which forms part of the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund is worth a similar amount and is intended to create opportunity across the UK in places most in need in a manner distinct but complementary to the Levelling Up Fund, through investment in skills, enterprise and employment.
As Part of Rishi Sunak's Budget this year, Burnley has been placed in the priority group for both funds, recognising the borough's needs and importance to the Government's promise to level-up. The Chancellor has also provided £170,000 to Burnley Council to enable it to work with stakeholders in order to create robust, ambitious and high-quality bids for the funds.
Commenting Antony Higginbotham MP said,
Since being elected as the Member of Parliament I’ve been pushing for the levelling up agenda to be brought to our area; regenerating both Burnley and Padiham’s town centres and creating a thriving local economy that people want to work, live and setup business in.
I’ve been banging the drum for over a year now and I’m delighted that this is now being reflected in Government funding priorities.
Securing this level of investment through both the Levelling Up Fund and the Community Renewal Fund will bring major benefits to people and businesses in our borough and I’ll continue to do all that I can to make it a reality.
In total the two schemes allow Burnley to bid for up to £23 million of investment to support our economic recovery, something which Antony Higginbotham MP is keen to see come to the Borough. “I will never stop lobbying for the measures and investment we need in Burnley and Padiham to create the borough we want. I said I would level up our area and that’s exactly what I’m fighting for” he said.
