Introduction
The £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund is the Government's major regeneration programme, providing grants to support capital investment projects across the United Kingdom since 2021.
It is a highly competitive fund – in Round 2 of the Levelling Up Fund there were 529 bids submitted, of which just 20.9% (111) were successful. This included Lancashire County Council’s Eden Project Morecambe, Ashford Borough Council's international film studio and Gateshead Council’s Gateshead Quays Conference Centre and Area. The chances of securing funding were slightly better in Round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund, when 105 (34.4%) of the 305 bids were successful.
Announcement of Round 3 LUF winners
On Monday 20th November 2023 the Secretary of State for Levelling Up announced the winners of the third round of the Levelling Up Fund.
The remaining £1bn has been awarded using a new methodology as set out by DLUHC, based upon considering bids from the second round which missed out on funding. In doing so, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities officials, considered metrics based upon Levelling Up Need as set out in the Levelling Up White Paper, ranking local authorities against 4 metrics which cover skills, pay, productivity and health.
The Levelling Up Fund Round 3 winners are:
|
LA Name |
Bid Name |
Bid Value (£) |
|
Birmingham |
National Centre for Decarbonisation of Heat |
£19,999,260 |
|
Blackpool |
Blackpool Town Centre Access Scheme (TCAS) - regeneration focused transport investment |
£15,385,023 |
|
Bolton |
Bolton Town Centre North Regeneration Project |
£20,000,000 |
|
Bradford |
Enhancing Keighley engineering, manufacturing, and economic role in the region |
£19,814,140 |
|
Carmarthenshire |
Regenerating Llanelli |
£15,547,105 |
|
Cheltenham |
National Cyber Innovation Centre |
£20,000,000 |
|
Chorley |
Town Centre Improvements and Civic Square Development |
£20,000,000 |
|
Croydon |
Reconnected Croydon |
£18,498,777 |
|
Denbighshire |
Tackling Deep Rooted Denbighshire Deprivation through Pride of Place & Natural Environment |
£19,973,283 |
|
Doncaster |
Levelling Up Doncaster North |
£17,950,341 |
|
Dudley |
Levelling Up Halesowen |
£20,000,000 |
|
Dudley |
Brierley Hill Education Quarter |
£20,000,000 |
|
Dumfries and Galloway |
Dumfries and Galloway Transport Bid |
£13,752,000 |
|
Dumfries and Galloway |
Three Rivers Active Tourism Project |
£22,809,416 |
|
Enfield |
Levelling Up Angel Edmonton |
£11,902,562 |
|
Glasgow City |
Drumchapel Town Centre Regeneration |
£14,979,646 |
|
Gloucester |
Greyfriars Quarter Regeneration |
£11,002,685 |
|
Gosport |
Reconnecting Historic Gosport Waterfront |
£18,117,915 |
|
Gravesham |
St George’s Square |
£20,000,000 |
|
Isle Of Wight |
Island Green Link |
£13,634,420 |
|
Kirklees |
Huddersfield Open Market Regeneration Project (HOMH) |
£16,649,855 |
|
Kirklees |
Penistone Line Rail Upgrade |
£47,917,122 |
|
Leeds |
Heart of Holbeck |
£15,949,291 |
|
Leicester |
Connecting St Margaret’s |
£12,177,706 |
|
Manchester |
Regenerating Wythenshawe Town Centre |
£20,000,000 |
|
Moray |
Elgin City Centre Masterplan: Levelling Up Moray |
£18,291,000 |
|
Neath Port Talbot |
Newbridge Active Travel Link and Dock Access |
£12,166,268 |
|
Neath Port Talbot |
Port Talbot Town Centre Regeneration |
£14,835,600 |
|
Newark And Sherwood |
Shaping Sherwood Revival |
£19,995,358 |
|
Newcastle Upon Tyne |
River Tyne Regeneration Infrastructure |
£19,417,075 |
|
North Ayrshire (with South Ayrshire) |
Levelling Up For Ayrshire: Commercial and Low Carbon Infrastructure |
£37,456,821 |
|
North Lincolnshire |
Scunthorpe Town Centre Vibrancy |
£15,867,608 |
|
Norwich |
Mile Cross Health, Wellbeing and Economic Activity |
£7,583,515 |
|
Nottingham |
Bulwell Town Centre Regeneration |
£19,867,000 |
|
Pembrokeshire |
Westgate to Eastgate: Levelling Up Pembroke Town |
£10,543,627 |
|
Plymouth |
Plymouth and South Devon Freeport (Freeport) Accelerating Plymouth Waterfront Regeneration |
£19,946,417 |
|
Powys |
Promoting recreational tourism in Powys through transport investment |
£17,714,498 |
|
Sandwell |
Grove Lane |
£18,063,128 |
|
Sheffield |
Parkwood Springs |
£19,389,336 |
|
Somerset |
A Vision for Tonedale 2022 |
£19,987,663 |
|
South Derbyshire |
Swadlincote Town Centre |
£1,108,000 |
|
South Lanarkshire |
National Business District: Shawfield - Remediation and Development |
£14,637,600 |
|
South Tyneside |
South Shields Riverside Transformation |
£20,000,000 |
|
Stafford |
Stafford Station Gateway |
£19,998,144 |
|
Stockton-on-Tees |
Stockton North - Billingham Town Centre |
£20,000,000 |
|
Tameside |
Destination Denton |
£16,764,793 |
|
Test Valley |
Andover Revealed |
£18,316,968 |
|
Torbay |
Brixham Fish and Hi Tech Chips |
£20,000,000 |
|
Vale Of Glamorgan |
Barry Making Waves - Y Barri Creu Tonnau |
£19,856,251 |
|
Wakefield |
The Ridings Wakefield |
£15,255,684 |
|
Watford |
Create Watford |
£16,021,788 |
|
Westmorland and Furness |
Heart of Kendal |
£13,476,700 |
|
Wigan |
Leigh Town Centre |
£11,389,554 |
|
Wirral |
Renewal of Liscard Town Centre |
£10,788,000 |
|
Wolverhampton |
Green Innovation Corridor |
£19,992,245 |
Subsidy Control compliance in the Levelling Up Fund
Since the bids for the second round of the Levelling Up Fund were submitted by local authorities the United Kingdom has put in place a new Subsidy Control regime. Therefore it is anticipated that successful bids will need to submit updated subsidy control advice to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, most likely including a review as to whether the measure can fit within the Levelling Up Fund Subsidy Scheme.
Conclusion
The announcement of the third round of the Levelling Up Fund is not a surprise, given Michael Gove's announcement in October that the competition would be launched before the Autumn Statement. However, there will be surprise that the winners are to be picked from the second round competition run in 2022. Naturally the areas which have secured funding will be delighted, whereas the unsuccessful bidders may well wish that the Government had given them the opportunity to present a new, updated case as to why their projects deserve investment.
DWF have a market leading Subsidy Control team, so are on hand should your Levelling Up Fund application require Subsidy Control advice.
