Issue - meetings

Background:

This report sought Cabinet approval of the business cases proposed for submission to central Government’s Levelling-Up Fund Round 2.

The report set out that the March 2021 Budget had introduced the Levelling-Up Fund (LUF) as a major new funding stream for the UK. LUF was designed to invest capital in infrastructure that improved everyday life across the UK by giving people pride in their local communities, bringing more places across the UK closer to opportunity, and demonstrating that Government could visibly deliver against the diverse needs of all places and all geographies.

LUF Round 1 had supported £1.7 billion of projects across the UK with Medway having secured £14.4 million for the Chatham Package of cultural projects; The Brook Theatre, The Docking Station and The Fitted Rigging House South.

Details of LUF Round 2 had been announced in late March 2022. The fund had been refined, with a stronger focus on deliverability of outputs and outcomes. The report set out that LUF focused on capital investment in local infrastructure with the themes of Transport, Regeneration and town centres and Culture being the same as the themes for Round 1. Bids could respond to one or more of these themes with each bid totalling up to £20 million.

The report proposed that Medway Council submit two LUF bids during LUF Round 2, the business case submission deadline for which was 6 July 2022. Project summaries were set out at Appendix 1 to the report.

Reasons:

To enable the LUF bids to be submitted to Government, in support of Medway Council’s established regeneration priorities.