Four Greater Manchester regeneration projects will benefit from a £86m boost in the latest round of Levelling Up funding from the government. Bolton, Manchester, Tameside and Wigan are among the 55 successful schemes to be selected for a share of nearly £1bn.
Manchester's bid for £20m to kickstart the redevelopment of Wythenshawe town centre was rejected earlier this year, just hours after plans for the Civic were approved. But the plans to transform the 1970s shopping centre have now been backed by the government.
Regeneration schemes in Bolton, Denton and Leigh town centres have also been selected in the latest round. All of these bids 'narrowly missed' out on funding earlier this year, but were assessed as 'high-quality and able to deliver quickly', the government says.
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Since 2021, £3.8bn has been awarded to 216 projects in the first two rounds of the Levelling Up Fund. In total, nearly £1bn has been allocated to 55 projects across the country in this third round of funding, with £128m awarded to projects in the North West.
Levelling up Secretary Michael Gove said: "Levelling up means delivering local people’s priorities and bringing transformational change in communities that have, for too long, been overlooked and undervalued. Today we are backing 55 projects across the UK with £1bn to create new jobs and opportunities, power economic growth, and revitalise local areas.
"This funding sits alongside our wider initiatives to spread growth, through devolving more money and power out of Westminster to towns and cities, putting in place bespoke interventions to places that need it most, and our Long-Term Plan for Towns."
Bolton
Bolton has been awarded up to £20m for regeneration projects in Bolton town centre. The scheme is part of the wider £1bn masterplan to create more homes, more jobs and better connectivity in the town centre which is already under way.
The borough has already benefitted from more than £50m of Levelling Up funding from the government. Bolton North East's Conservative MP Mark Logan said: "I'm ecstatic to announce this fantastic £20m news for the future of Bolton.
"Bolton is clearly a priority for this Conservative government, and we are committed to cementing our great town as an even more attractive destination to work, live and visit. Since 2019, we’ve completed the £12m revamp of the Octagon Theatre, secured £23m from the government’s Towns Fund, £20m for a new Bolton College of Medical Sciences and now, a further £20m Levelling-Up bid for town centre regeneration projects.
"I’d like to thank the previous Bolton Council administration for working together on this bid over a long period of time, and for the current Council team, we have a lot of work to do now to realise the regeneration of our town."
Manchester
Initially unsuccessful in the previous rounds of bidding, £20m of funding has now been agreed by the Department of Levelling Up, Homes and Communities (DLUHC) as part of the third round of the national funding. Manchester council, which acquired the Civic shopping centre in Wythenshawe in 2022, is currently look for a developer to drive the ‘once-in-a-generation' programme over the next 10 to 15 years.
The plan is to transform the 1970s shopping centre and surrounding areas through a project that will deliver a new public square, new shops, net zero carbon commercial, community and cultural space, and around 1,600 new homes - including affordable housing - built on council-owned land. The successful joint venture partner that will deliver the project in full will be announced in late spring 2024.
Wythenshawe and Sale East's Labour MP Mike Kane said: "After working closely with your local Labour councillors to ensure the Council remains committed to the regeneration of Wythenshawe town centre it is great to hear that we have today been successful in securing £20m funding for the regeneration of the Civic Centre. We can now push on to deliver plans for a once-in-a-generation programme of regeneration - including more than 1600 new homes, new shops, a new public square and cultural space that will breathe new life, leisure opportunities, jobs, and vital economic activity into Wythenshawe.
"I have taken every opportunity to lobby Government, securing debates in parliament, meeting with Homes England and most recently speaking about the plans and calling on Government to put their money where their mouth is on levelling up during my response to the Kings Speech. With the process to secure a joint venture partner for the Civic Centre already well underway I see a bright future for Wythenshawe and I will continue to keep local residents and businesses updated on these exciting plans."
Tameside
Denton will also receive a funding boost through the third round of the levelling up fund. The 'Destination Denton' project, which Tameside council had previously bid for but was not successful, will receive up to £16,764,793 of funding.
Denton and Reddish's Labour MP Andrew Gwynne shared the news on social media, exclaiming 'Christmas comes early to Denton'. He wrote: Totally chuffed this morning to receive a letter from [the Department of Levelling Up, Homes and Communities] to say that Denton’s Levelling-Up Bid which I submitted with [Tameside council], has now been awarded up to £16.7 m!"
Wigan
Wigan council's £11m bid for Leigh town centre has also been successful. According to Leigh MP James Grundy, the funding will go towards improvements to Leigh Civic Square, the regeneration of high street shop fronts and for the refurbishment of Leigh Market.
However, the Conservative MP said he is disappointed that his constituency did not get the full £20m available. He said: "While I am delighted to hear that the Government have awarded £11,389,554 of the Levelling Up Fund to Leigh, I am disappointed that a third round of bidding has not gone ahead to allow the case to be made to resubmit an updated bid for the full £20 million available.
"I welcome, however, that the fund has been successful this year and that should the council confirm that the proposals in the bid are still deliverable, Leigh will benefit from the Levelling Up Fund. I am hopeful that concerns over the challenges in implementing these projects with the new fund can be addressed in advance and in a way that works best for local people, businesses and market traders."
