The Burton Town Deal Board is delighted to announce that the town has been awarded £22.8m following the submission of the Burton Town Investment Plan in December 2020.
Today’s announcement that Burton has been awarded £22.8m compares to an average allocation of £22.14m per town for the 7 Town Deals across the West Midlands and £22.6m nationally.
The Chair of the Town Deal Board, Ben Robinson MBE, said:
“We are delighted to have secured £22.8 million of funding for the town – which will be a vital cash injection into our community at such a difficult time.
“When we started this project, we knew how important this funding was for the future prosperity of the town but the impact of Covid-19 on our community has made this money even more important.
“The pandemic has not only been devastating in health terms but also for our businesses and jobs, so to have secured this investment at this time is crucial to our future wellbeing.
“We are now able to push forward with the projects that have been identified by the consultation process and I’m excited about what can be achieved and what an impact it can have on our town.”
The interventions that can be supported by the Town Deal funding are:
University Learning Hub: An intervention that expands the university's current presence at the local hospital by creating a new Regional Learning Centre within the existing Brewhouse Arts Centre, with both services operating from the facility in the future.
High Street Linkages: This intervention will take the first steps towards enabling the realisation of a new High Street masterplan, focusing on enhancing and revitalising the area around the existing library site and Andressey Passage, looking at how to connect the riverside to the High Street.
Library & Enterprise Hub (Market Hall): The creation of a public services and enterprise hub at the Market Hall building, bringing key services together in a prominent town centre location, driving footfall around the Market Place area and beyond.
New Pedestrian & Cycle Crossing over the River Trent: A new walking and cycling bridge that connects the Stapenhill Hollows and surrounding residential areas to the town centre at the Garden of Rememberance, overlooking the enhanced Washlands central area.
Trent and Mersey Canal Towpath Improvements: The improvement of the walking and cycling path between the major development at Branston Locks and the town centre through the Shobnall Playing Fields area.
Cycle Network Enhancements: The implementation of the Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan for Burton, making significant improvements to the cycle network in and around the town.
College Specialist Education Offer: The creation of two new specialist facilities at Burton and South Derbyshire College; a Health & Social Care Realistic Environment and Digital, Creative and Data STEAM Hub.
Over the course of the next month, the Chair of the Board and East Staffordshire Borough Council, as the accountable body, will discuss and agree Heads of Terms with the Ministry of Housing, Communities & Local Government regarding the terms of the grant. Following this, the town has 12 months to create and assess business cases for each of the interventions being supported by the Towns Fund.
Councillor George Allen, Deputy Leader for Regeneration & Planning Policy at East Staffordshire Borough Council, added:
“The award of £22.8m is fantastic news for the town as it offers the opportunity to regenerate Burton over the course of the next five years in a way that will level up the town across a number of areas, such as skills, transport, and revitalising the High Street.
“As part of the next 12 months, each project sponsor will be required to produce a business case for their project that will need to comply with the Government’s Green Book. As part of this process, they will need to consider and evaluate criteria such as whether their project provides value for money and whether there are opportunities for other public and private investment to add value to the Towns Fund investment.”
Philip White, Deputy Leader of Staffordshire County Council and Cabinet member for Economy and Skills, said:
“This is great news for Burton and a vote of confidence in its future: a genuinely exciting once-in-a-generation opportunity to rethink the town centre, reduce reliance on the car and improve residents’ quality of life.
“I’m delighted that the county council, borough council and other groups and organisations in the community have worked together so well to attract millions of pounds of investment for the town’s future.”
The Town Deal Board will be supporting partners in bringing forward their business cases for projects, which will be determined locally using the accountable body’s assurance framework. As part of the assessment for these business cases, project sponsors will be asked how they have engaged with the Burton public regarding their proposals and how they intend to continue that engagement if their project is funded by the Towns Fund.
The Burton Civic Society said: “The Burton Civic Society are pleased that the work that has been undertaken by the Town Development Board, of which they have representatives sitting on, has proved successful by the Government awarding the Board the amount of £22.8m.
“While we are pleased that the money for the bid is now in place, we recognise that, the work starts now, ensuring that each element operates for the benefit of the people of Burton.”
Dawn Ward CBE, CEO and Principal of the College, stated: “We are delighted that the Burton Stronger Town’s Fund bid has been successful and that our own future skills part of the bid will now go ahead. As a College we have always worked with local employers, the Chamber of Commerce and our own labour market forecasting tools to ensure we are delivering the much needed technical and vocational skills of the future. This essential investment in skills from the Town’s Fund will ensure that key local industries have the future pipeline of skilled talent, both now and in the future, that will allow their businesses to thrive helping drive increased economic development and prosperity locally.”
Richard Preston, partnerships & external relationship manager at Canal & River Trust, said: ‘We’re delighted that the scheme to improve the canal towpaths around Burton upon Trent has been approved as part of the Towns Fund. During the pandemic we have seen a huge increase in the number of people visiting their local canal. As well as being great for cycling and walking, our research shows that being outside next to water makes us all feel happier and healthier. We look forward to working with the Town Fund team.”