There are renewed hopes for accelerating the regeneration of Huyton Village as Knowsley Council prepares to table three new Levelling Up Fund bids.
Local councils and authorities can submit bids to the Government controlled fund which looks to invest in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK. It was set up to support town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.
Areas across are country are placed in priority categories which determines the areas most in need of levelling up support. Knowsley is in priority category one, the most in need, however it has so far received £0 in the way of Levelling Up Fund support.
READ MORE: Huyton remains a tale of two villages after Government snub
Knowsley Council’s first bid, which was unsuccessful in the previous round of funding, centred on the regeneration of Huyton Village. The council was asking for £20m to help deliver an ambitious 10 year masterplan which involves the development of a new commercial district, enhanced public spaces, improving transport access and support for local businesses.
Huyton’s £20m regeneration plans will once again make up one of Knowsley Council’s bids when it applies for the second round of funding. The successful bids are expected to be announced in October.
A second bid, submitted jointly with St Helens Borough Council, will look to reposition both Prescot town centre and St Helens town centre. July will feature the eagerly anticipated opening of the Shakespeare Northern Playhouse in Prescot with the town’s levelling up bid aiming to strengthen the area’s heritage, cultural and leisure offer.
The third bid is looking to gain support for the development of local provisions in Halewood - an area with a growing population which is set to be bolstered by a number of large scale housing developments. The deadline for the bids to be submitted is July 6.
Speaking about the hopes for Knowsley Council’s Levelling Up Fund bids, Cllr Tony Brennan, Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Economic Development, said: “We are committed to ensuring our communities have access to the very best facilities and the Levelling Up Fund will help us to accelerate our development plans and bring us in-line with other parts of the country.
“Through the delivery of our plans, we will be creating vibrant places where people choose to come and live, work or visit. Having previously been rejected for round 1 funding, we are working hard to strengthen our Huyton bid, as well as developing new bids for Prescot and Halewood, in order to attract this much-needed funding.”
