Issue - meetings

The Corporate Director of Place to present a report which summarises two funding opportunities made available by the Government to support the delivery of its Levelling Up Agenda, and seeks approval to prepare and submit bids for the Levelling Up Fund and to prepare and submit the investment plan required to draw down funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Resolved:  (i)      That officers be instructed to undertake the necessary work, including partner engagement and the preparation of an investment plan, to secure the drawdown of York’s allocation of funding from the UKSPF.

                   (ii)      That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning and the Executive Member for Finance and Performance, to submit the final Investment Plan required to draw down York’s allocation of funding from the UKSPF.

Reason:     To allow officers, in consultation with the relevant Executive Members, to prepare and submit an Investment Plan by the end of July 2022 to secure the drawdown of funding from the UKSPF.

                   (iii)     That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Performance, to submit the round two funding bids identified in this report to the LUF. 

Reason:     To allow officers to prepare and submit the strongest possible bids to Government on 6 July.

                   (iv)    That it be noted that a report setting out the final bid submissions will be brought to a future decision session of the Executive Member for Finance and Performance.

Reason:     To confirm the final bid compositions submitted to Government.

The Director of Housing, Regeneration & Economy and the Head of Regeneration & Economy presented a report which summarised two funding opportunities made available by the Government to support the delivery of its Levelling Up Agenda.  It sought approval to prepare and submit the investment plan required to draw down funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF), which replaced the European Structural Investment Funds (ESIF), and to prepare and submit bids for the Levelling Up Fund (LUF).

Information on the UKSPF was provided in paragraphs 14-30 of the report.  Development of the York UKSPF Investment Plan would take as a starting point existing approved local strategies to ensure that the funding aligned with these, and a partnership group would be brought together to ensure widespread support for actions identified in the Plan.  Details of the two proposed Round 2 LUF bids were set out in paragraphs 45-68.  They comprised a resubmission, with refinements, of the Round 1 regeneration bid for £19m for projects to revitalise the city centre (including Castle Gateway) which, though unsuccessful, had received positive feedback, and a Transport orientated bid for £5m to augment the proposed Haxby Station.

In response to matters raised under Public Participation, officers confirmed that Acomb Front Street was likely to be one of the projects considered for inclusion in the UKSPF Plan, as its objectives fitted closely to those of the funding streams.  In supporting the recommendations, the Executive Member for Finance & Performance thanked officers for the work they had done within a tight timeframe, and it was

Resolved:  (i)      That officers be instructed to undertake the necessary work, including partner engagement and the preparation of an investment plan, to secure the drawdown of York’s allocation of funding from the UKSPF.

                   (ii)      That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Economy and Strategic Planning and the Executive Member for Finance and Performance, to submit the final Investment Plan required to draw down York’s allocation of funding from the UKSPF.

Reason:     To allow officers, in consultation with the relevant Executive Members, to prepare and submit an Investment Plan by the end of July 2022 to secure the drawdown of funding from the UKSPF.

                   (iii)     That authority be delegated to the Corporate Director of Place, in consultation with the Executive Member for Finance and Performance, to submit the round two funding bids identified in this report to the LUF. 

Reason:     To allow officers to prepare and submit the strongest possible bids to Government on 6 July.

                   (iv)    That it be noted that a report setting out the final bid submissions will be brought to a future decision session of the Executive Member for Finance and Performance.

Reason:     To confirm the final bid compositions submitted to Government.