The minister for Levelling Up has said the North East "won't be forgotten" as two projects in County Durham are given a £120,000 boost.
Neil O’Brien was in County Durham on Thursday visiting the historic High House Chapel in Weardale and the neglected Dorset Place Community centre in Bishop Auckland which are both due to be transformed.
Both projects will benefit from more than £120,000 as part of the Government’s Community Ownership Fund. The funding will help support community takeovers of much-loved assets as part of the Government’s mission to level up across the country.
And as work gets under way to transform the buildings, Minister for Levelling Up Neil O’Brien said he wants to see more high-paid jobs in the area. He said: "We want to make sure County Durham and the North East are not forgotten and we want to address some of the issues that people are concerned about.
"We want to try and make sure there are more high-paid jobs here by doing a lot of different things. It's also about looking at the underlying issues that can hold communities back like health inequalities.
"Everything we are doing from direct funding to the high street regeneration fund to this in Bishop Auckland, it's all part of it."
In the Spring Statement on Wednesday, Chancellor Rishi Sunak outlined his plan to help households through the cost of living crisis including cutting fuel duty and raising the National Insurance threshold. However, there was little said on the Government's Levelling Up plans - but Mr O'Brien said they both hope to achieve the same thing.
He said: "The Spring Statement is similar to that of the Levelling up Fund in trying to help those worse off by doing things like raising the National Insurance threshold. It's all part of the same goal to try to help people who are working hard but are not on particularly high incomes."
In Weardale, High House Chapel had been significantly damaged by flooding and was at imminent risk of being lost. It has been an integral part of Weardale life and an iconic symbol of built heritage for the last 260 years.
However, with more than £56,000 of Government funding, work can begin to bring the beloved chapel back into use. It's hoped it will create new jobs for the local community and draw more visitors to the rural town.
Meanwhile, the Dorset Place Community centre will be transformed into The Centre of Social Enterprise and Creativity - a creative and social space, creating volunteering, training, and employment opportunities for the local community.
Backed by more than £65,000 in funding, this project will give up to 10 young adults the opportunity to gain a traineeship and work experience, working alongside contractors and tradespeople on the project.
Mr O'Brien added: "It’s fantastic to see these important community assets being put into the hands of the people that most care about them. By breathing new life into historic and neglected buildings, we are helping to revive areas such as Weardale and Sedgefield by providing more places to work, learn and socialise.
"We are backing communities here and across the country, as we work together to level up the United Kingdom."
The Centre of Social Enterprise and Creativity will be the new home of Bridge Creative which helps improve employment opportunities for adults with learning disabilities and/or autism across County Durham.
Ben Tinkler, founder and managing director of Bridge Creative, said: "The centre is going to create lots of opportunities for adults with learning difficulties and autistic adults to gain work experience. There are lots of opportunities for the local community as well to get involved in volunteering, community events and setting up their own social enterprise and accessing local services which will really benefit the community."
These projects are two of ten projects confirmed today across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland which will benefit from more than £1.8m in funding to support much-loved community assets as part of the Government’s ambitious plan to level up the whole of the UK.
The £150m Community Ownership Fund (COF) has been set up to help communities take ownership of assets and amenities at risk of closure. The first round of successful projects was announced at the Government Spending Review in autumn last year.
