In his Spring Budget this lunchtime, Chancellor of the Exchequer the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP has announced that Rhyl is to receive an additional £20 million as part of the levelling up agenda.
Before Christmas, Denbighshire County Council was awarded £20 million in the most recent round of the Levelling Up Fund, with nearly £13 million of that sum committed to regenerating Rhyl. Earlier last year, the county council also received £26 million through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
Since that time, the Levelling Up Minister, Jacob Young MP, and the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, the Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, have visited Rhyl and James was able to reiterate his calls in Parliament that further ongoing financial commitment to the town was required.
Today, the Chancellor has announced further funding for the seaside town.
The Government is expanding its ‘Long Term Plan for Towns’ to 20 more places, of which Rhyl is one.
This provides each place with £20m of endowment style funding to invest over 10 years, empowering them to develop a plan for the long term, not just a plan for the end of the financial year.
Responding to the news, Vale of Clwyd MP Dr James Davies said:
“This is very welcome news indeed for Rhyl and will contribute massively to the ongoing efforts to regenerate the town.
“The funding will be focused on the issues that matter most to local people, including the high street, heritage and regeneration, and public safety and security.
“The flexibility within this funding means that towns are more able to capitalise on private and charitable investment, aligning delivery with businesses and investors to maximise the benefits for local people.”
James added:
“The Long Term Plan for Towns forms part of an ambitious and much wider programme of reform and investment to level up the UK, which puts powers and funding in the hands of individuals across the country.
“As the Prime Minister has said, “the problems facing our towns are long-term and our approach must be too”.
“With £13m of Levelling Up funding already committed to Rhyl, this additional money over the next 10 years will really help the town fulfil its potential and put it back on the map for all the right reasons.
“I thank the Chancellor for providing Rhyl with this substantial funding package and the opportunity to achieve the best outcomes for the town.”
MORE INFORMATION ON THE LONG-TERM PLAN FOR TOWNS: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/our-long-term-plan-for-towns…
Further on the existing Levelling Up support for the area: https://www.jamesdavies.org.uk/news/vale-clwyd-receive-ps20m-uk-governm…
