East Staffordshire Borough Council is pleased to confirm that it will be bidding for £20m from the second round of the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.
The bid will look to secure significant funding towards the continuing regeneration of Burton upon Trent town centre, and will be formed of three interventions.
These three exciting initiatives are being developed in line with the outcome of the public consultation held in May and would deliver culture, leisure and education enhancements to Burton under the following themes:
• Revitalising the Market Quarter;
• Creating a new indoor action sports centre;
• Investing in Bass House and introducing new uses.
Councillor George Allen, Leader of the Council, said:
“This is a fantastic opportunity for Burton as we bid to this highly competitive fund to further our regeneration activities around the town centre, focusing on areas that the public have told us are the highest priority for them.
“The proposals are still high level, and so concepts and costings have been identified for the purposes of the bid which if successful will be subject to further, focused consultation and engagement in order to ensure the proposals continue to reflect the ambitions of the town.”
The project for revitalising the Market Quarter would provide funding to improve the Market Place in order to create a more vibrant and attractive market area, alongside funding for the Market Hall following the outcome of the Market Hall review coming forward later in the year.
The Indoor Action Sports Centre project would create a brand new 2,500sqm multi-activity facility for residents and visitors to enjoy, as proposed in the High Street Linkages project previously developed as part of the Towns Fund bid. The action sports centre would provide activities such as skateboarding, trampolining and biking, alongside other complementary leisure activities, which could include things like ten-pin bowling and live music. The overall theme would be to provide a singular facility that incorporates a wide range of activities to cater for various age groups.
The proposed investment in Bass House would bring forward a range of food and drink uses at the rear of the building, and would overlook the public realm area expected to be created through the complementary Towns Fund initiatives. The investment in Bass House would also improve the overall quality and standard of the building. This would enable the ground floor to be operated by Staffordshire University as a campus for digital, business and healthcare courses as part of the Towns Fund “Project C”, bringing new higher education courses to the Borough.
The total bid across the three themes is expected to be for the full £20m, and will be made by the fund deadline of 12noon on 6th July 2022.
Further information about the consultation outcome and the bid can be found on the Council’s website on the Levelling Up Fund webpage: https://www.eaststaffsbc.gov.uk/content/levelling-fund-bid