Almost a quarter of a million pounds of further Government cash has been confirmed for Scunthorpe High Street to make the area cleaner, greener, safer and more visually appealing.
Initially, £237,000 cash will be available for the High Street Accelerator project to improve green spaces and create places for socialising. A further £500,000 will be available from next year.
Cllr Rob Waltham, leader, North Lincolnshire Council, said: “A new future is already being built in Scunthorpe with huge amounts of Government cash being used to reshape the town.
“The majority of the existing project are bigger, longer-term projects but this cash will give us an opportunity to make an immediate impact.”
Through the Towns Fund, Future High Streets and Levelling-Up projects, cash has been used to secure gigabit broadband for homes and businesses in the town centre, for schools and colleges to install green technology to reduce carbon emissions and their fuel bills, and to build new cultural attractions and events space.
Some of the cash is also being used to create new homes and a recently announced £16m will be used to convert empty units for new uses. A further investment programme will see £2m a year every year for 10 years come into the town centre.
And, £500,000 cash has been secured for communities in the Crosby area through the Police and Crime Commissioner as well as £250,000 for a high-tech upgrade to the multi-storey car park at the Parishes.
Minister for Levelling Up Jacob Young, who recently visited Scunthorpe to sign the historic devolution deal for Greater Lincolnshire, said: “It has been a tough few years for our high streets following the pandemic and the changes we’ve seen in consumer behaviour.
“We know that local people know what’s best for their area, and we’re keen to understand the benefits that High Street Accelerators could bring working with local businesses and their communities.
“These Accelerators will complement other interventions, empowering local people to tackle vacancy and other issues on their high streets.”
These 10 areas – to be called High Street Accelerators – will receive an initial £2.37m to kickstart their partnerships – a total of £237,000 each. They can also apply for a share of up to £5m to improve their high streets’ green spaces and create more pleasant environments for residents to meet and socialise.
This £7 million will be spent over the next two years and the impact will be evaluated to inform future government policy and support for left-behind high streets, building on larger interventions like the £1.1 billion Long-Term Plan for Towns.
Scunthorpe joins nine other areas across the UK in getting access to this latest Government cash, including Blackpool, Stoke-on-Trent, Hyndburn, Oldham, Hull, Blackburn, Grimsby, Tendring and Tameside.
