This week, at a full council meeting, it was confirmed that West Lancashire Borough Council had voted to support the plan that would see funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund allocated to the delivery of a series of key initiatives.
Created to replace the European Structural Funds, the UKSPF is being used to empower local authorities to continue building further pride, improving the place where people live, and supporting the people and businesses in their areas to continue thriving. West Lancashire’s allocation of the funding amounted to £4.2 million, and will be invested until March 2025, for use in a mixture of capital and revenue projects.
The investment plan for how the allocation will be spent has now been approved by the council, however it also needs to be approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. This is to ensure that it follows the three main priority areas, which are:
- Community and place
- Supporting Local Business
- People and Skills
Councillor Rob Molloy, Portfolio Holder for Economic Regeneration and Finance, said:
“I am delighted to be able to approve the council’s UKSPF investment plan. There is a great mix of projects from across the whole of the Borough which will improve the sense of pride in place, build on our strengths but, most importantly, has our residents, businesses, and partners at centre.
“This funding will have a huge positive impact on our local communities and enable us to deliver a variety of projects to support our borough to build resilience, improve the health of our neighbourhoods, support our businesses, and help to attract new jobs and investment. We look forward to sharing the type of projects we will be supporting in more detail as they come through to fruition.”
Alongside the funding that has been allocated through the UKSPF, West Lancashire Borough Council is also hoping secure further funding from the Rural England Prosperity Fund. This would amount to £441,630 and would be used to replace the EU’s LEADER and Growth Programme.
