Inaugural meeting of Newark Towns Fund Board takes place to discuss ways to spend up to £25m of Government windfall
The inaugural meeting of a group looking at ways in which up to £25m of a Government windfall could be spent in Newark has taken place.
As part of this, a new Towns Fund Partnership needed to be set up, and the Newark Towns Fund Board was formed.
Newark is one of 100 towns across the country the Government has earmarked to receive up to £25m to boost its performance and maximise its potential.
At the first meeting, a wide range of organisations were represented, including businesses, Newark College, the county, district, town and parish councils, Network Rail, Homes England and the Citizens Advice Bureau.
Between now and summer, a Town Investment Plan has to be developed.
Initial ideas were discussed to:
- Make it quicker and easier to travel to, from and within Newark, by all modes of transport
- Re-vitalise Newark town centre, by diversifying its offering from predominantly retail to a place to live, work, socialise and study
- Increase the skills and earning potential of Newark residents
- Increase the number and quality of Newark business start-ups with access to a digitally-connected network
David Lloyd, leader of Newark and Sherwood District Council, the lead authority, said: “The Towns Fund presents a really exciting opportunity to unleash Newark’s potential and to tackle some of the significant challenges that it faces.
“It was great to have such positive engagement from a broad cross section of our community and I’m very confident that we will be able to submit to Government an exciting and effective investment plan.”
The Towns Fund is a new Government initiative.
It was launched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Newark MP Robert Jenrick in his role as Local Government Secretary.
One hundred needy towns were selected on merit to receive a share of a £3.6bn pot.
Each town on the Town Deals list will work with the Government to develop innovative regeneration plans.
The move was said to be part of the Prime Minister’s commitment to “levelling up our regions.”
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