Three Sussex towns asked to suggest ways to spend up to £25m each

Friday, 6 September 2019 16:48

The Government has announced that Hastings, Newhaven and Crawley will be the first three Sussex towns to receive money from a new £3.6 billion regeneration fund announced in March. According to the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Development, communities, business and local leaders are invited to join forces to draw up "ambitious plans" to transform their towns' economic growth prospects. Areas for improvement, the government suggested, could include transport, broadband connectivity, skills and closure. Finance will come from a fund established in March 2019, the 'Towns Fund', with each town able to suggest spending plans for up to £25 million. The three towns in Sussex are among 100 across Britain named in the announcement. They've been included as places having a "proud industrial and economic heritage", but which have "not always benefited from economic growth in the same way as more prosperous areas". Local government secretary, Rt. Hon. Robert Jenrick MP, said: "Ensuring that prosperity and opportunities are available to everyone in this country, not just those in London or our biggest cities, is at the heart of the mission of this government. "We want to level-up our great towns, raising living standards and ensuring they can thrive with transformative investment in transport, technology, skills and culture. "I will now work with local people from the 100 communities announced today to agree proposals to invest up to £25 million in each place. "I hope these deals will provide the investment and the impetus for long-term renewal, ensuring each town can look to the future with a new optimism." A new prospectus will soon be published, the government said, to guide towns through the process, and set eligibility criteria for funding.