Levelling Up - it's happened!

It’s happened! Levelling Up Fund Round 2 successful bids have now been announced and we are beyond thrilled to see around £80million worth of investment coming into Greater Lincolnshire.

The £4.8billion Levelling Up Fund is just one way the UK Government committed to levelling up the whole of the UK, funding 216 projects so far, with more to come.

More than 100 projects have been awarded a share of £2.1billion from Round 2 of the government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund - in Lincolnshire, there have been six successful bids. This means that projects that have had so much passion, drive and tenacity poured into them will finally be coming to fruition to benefit residents of and visitors to Lincolnshire, creating jobs and boosting our economic growth - securing the future of our visitor economy.

Charlotte Goy, CEO of Destination Lincolnshire, said: “Six months ago at our Levelling Up Lincolnshire event we said change was coming to Greater Lincolnshire from the Levelling Up agenda. Now, it’s here. That incredible pot of £4.8m in funding has been allocated and we are beyond thrilled to see around £80million coming to Greater Lincolnshire. What an incredible way to start a new year, with a cash injection that will see so many of the innovative projects we discussed last year come to life, elevating our offering across the county to deliver strong, forward-thinking, innovative, and collaborative plans for the future to be realised.”

Michelle Sacks, Deputy Chief Executive (Growth) at Boston, East Lindsey, and South Holland Councils, took to LinkedIn to say: “So, just like that, after months of waiting, BOOM, the South & East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership was awarded all three, yes, all three, of our #LevellingUp bids. It sounds so easy when you put it like that! But this is only achievable when you have a determined, incredible, passionate team who constantly work outside the normal, expected boundaries because they care about our people and place. We are all in a state of happy, excited, frazzled-ness at what can really be achieved for our community by this funding. Life changing is not over-stating it.

So what does this really mean for Lincolnshire? Take a look at the outline of each of our six funded projects below and their role in the future of the visitor economy…

Place Projects:

Cleethorpes Masterplan | £18,412,039 – to implement transformational interventions to revitalise the seafront and town centre to become a year-round ‘go to’ destination as proposed by North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) commissioned Hemingway Design (led by Wayne Hemingway MBE). The funds will be used for a ‘transformational regeneration’ of the seafront, Market Square and Pier Gardens.

Caistor and District Community Trust Limited | £250,000 - allocated to the Caistor and District Community Trust Limited (C&DCT) in West Lindsey from the UK Community Ownership Fund to help restore and revitalise 2-4 Market Place in the town. This cash will help transform the building into a new facility, including a restaurant and an event space to be used by the people of Caistor.

Thriving Gainsborough | £10,274,857 - Gainsborough town centre is set to be regenerated with this portion of funds from the Levelling Up Fund. The funding will boost employment and kickstart economic growth in the town through; a new four screen cinema and retail space, transforming the town hall into a new enterprise hub. The funds will also upgrade the town centre by improving historic shop fronts and creating quality residential flats.

The South Holland Health and Wellbeing Hub | £20,000,000 - to be used as an investment in a Health and Wellbeing (“Hub”) in Spalding, Lincolnshire. The total capital cost is £26 million, of which South Holland District Council is using £20 million of LUF funding. The transformational scheme will inspire residents of Spalding and the district to be active and healthy, enabling them to live longer healthy lives, tackling longstanding health inequalities.

Lincolnshire Wolds Culture and Heritage Programme | £8,091,774 - This LUF bid will invest in three of Lincolnshire Wolds ‘most important heritage and cultural assets’, transforming them into viable and sustainable venues for the benefit of communities and visitors alike: Spilsby Sessions House - Grade II listed former courthouse, will be transformed into a vibrant cultural centre and creative hub; Alford Manor House - Grade II* listed building and the country's largest thatched manor house, will benefit from new community space; and improved visitor facilities Alford’s only remaining windmill, Grade I listed, to be brought back into commercial use as part of a thriving visitor/community complex.

The Rosegarth Square Masterplan | £14,846,596 – dubbed a new urban park, this addition to Boston will create green space as part of the PE21 regeneration site behind West Street around B&M and the Len Medlock Voluntary Centre. This will catalyse wider regeneration of a strategically important brownfield site, increase activity and dwell time, contribute positively to health and wellbeing, address crime issues, and offer opportunities for culture and recreation.

Transport Projects:

A16 Corridor Improvements | £19,558,800 - Almost £20 million is being allocated to improve the A16 corridor between Boston and Spalding, improving transport links for the food growth sector.

Lincoln Western Growth Corridor (WGC) - Eastern Transport Access Scheme | £20,000,000 -
to deliver two bridges to cross East Midlands Railway providing access to the site of the consented Lincoln Western Growth Corridor (WGC) sustainable development. The WGC scheme will in turn provide housing, education and leisure destinations, and a faster and more desirable link between the Birchwood community in the west/south-west of the city and Lincoln’s city centre.

Barton Principal Town Regeneration Project | £19,703,042 - playing an important role in facilitating growth across the region and delivering North Lincolnshire Council’s (NLC) and UK Government’s housing and economic growth aspirations, this funding will provide vital housing to support the health and wellbeing of residents, current and future communities as well as an integrated transport network to unlock this housing and encourage sustainable mode of transport is vital to deliver growth in the town.