The Secretary of State for Communities, Robert Jenrick MP, has today announced that Telford’s Towns Fund Board has been successful in its bid for funding from the Government’s Towns Fund.
As a result, the Government will invest £22.3m in schemes put forward by the Telford Towns Fund Board, which include the regeneration of Station Quarter, with a new maths and digital skills hub devised in collaboration with Telford College. This investment will create jobs, boost growth and ensure enhanced productivity.
The Towns Fund Board is composed of local stakeholders and community leaders, working collaboratively, to help secure Telford’s future and ensure its recovery from the pandemic.
Lucy Allan MP said:
“I am delighted that the Government has approved Telford’s bid for Towns Fund monies. It’s been a hugely positive experience to be a member of the Towns Fund Board, collaborating with stakeholders and other community leaders, making the case for our town and successfully securing funding for Telford’s future. I am very grateful to the Secretary of State for Communities for his support for Telford and the Board. He was able to see for himself the impact this funding will have for our community when he visited Telford recently and met with our Board members.
Telford’s £22.3m is a huge sum and will play a vital role in Telford’s future and its ability to bounce back post-pandemic. Skills training and technology will be the engines of new growth and jobs and will confirm Telford’s position as an economic hub fuelling growth across the West Midlands.
There is real enthusiasm for the Government’s levelling up agenda and the benefits it can bring to Telford. It is crucial that local authorities embrace these opportunities and that they work constructively with Government and representatives of local people. I strongly encourage the Council to submit bids for the Levelling Up Fund, another Government initiative designed to invest in town centres and high street regeneration, local transport projects and cultural sites.
Applications for the first round of Levelling Up funding close next Friday. I understand the Council is not applying for Levelling Up funding. However, there will be another opportunity later in the year and I hope Telford & Wrekin Council will think again; this money will make all the difference to people’s lives and to the future of our town.”
Photo above: Lucy Allan MP with Rt Hon Robert Jenrick MP, Secretary of State for Communities and members of the Telford Towns Fund Board including Chairman Graham Wynn and representatives of Telford College, Paul Hinkins and Graham Guest with Felicity Wingrove from Zen Communications. The Chief Executive of Telford & Wrekin Council, David Sidaway is also pictured.
