Greenock gets £20 million from new UK Government towns fund

It is one of seven Scottish places picked to receive a windfall to help improve town centres and boost regeneration, with Clydebank, Coatbridge, Dumfries, Elgin, Irvine and Kilmarnock also benefiting.

The money will be drawn down over a 10-year period, with local people involved in deciding how it should be spent.

It is on top of the £20m that has already been agreed for the town's 'Levelling Up' project to regenerate the heart of the town.

Welcoming the announcement of the extra cash, Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council and co-chair of Inverclyde Socio-Economic Taskforce, said: “Funding like this is crucial to allow us, as a council, to regenerate Greenock town centre and help improve opportunities for Inverclyde.

“The Inverclyde Socio-Economic task force was established to explore opportunities for investment and I’m pleased our collective voice has been listened to by the UK Government and we now have an opportunity to build upon the existing £20m Levelling Up funding to breathe new life into Greenock Town Centre.

“Promoting Greenock and Inverclyde as a great place to live, work, visit and do business is vital to the ongoing success of the area and this funding will help us to deliver meaningful improvements for the benefit of residents and businesses, allowing them to help us shape the priorities for the area.”

Greenock was picked for the £20m boost using a 'Levelling Up Needs Index' which takes into account metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health, as well as the Index of Multiple Deprivation.

A total of 55 towns across the UK will be receiving money. The UK Government says Greenock and the others need a long-term investment plan as they have 'been overlooked and taken for granted'.

The money will be provided directly by the UK Government to the council, but locals will have a say in how it is spent.

Under a new approach, they will receive a 10-year endowment-style fund to be spent on their priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.

A town board will be set up to bring together community leaders, employers and local authorities to deliver a long-term plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.

It include community groups, MPs, businesses, cultural and sports organisations, public sector agencies and local authorities

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work.

"But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities."

“The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse

"That changes today. Our long-term plan for towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term.

"That is how we level up.”

Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove said: "For too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued.

“We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1bn of levelling up funding.

“This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long term decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack added: "It's great to see that seven Scottish towns will benefit from £20 million each from the latest round of levelling up funding which so far has seen us invest more than £2.4 billion right across Scotland to help grow our economy and level up the country."