South Kesteven District Council today received official confirmation of its plans to invest £3.9m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
The approval is part of the Government’s Levelling Up commitment to meet priorities of communities and place; supporting local business; and people and skills.
Confirmation of the Council’s spending priorities for the £3.898m means it can now build on the plans and projects contained within the UKSPF Investment Plan.
This funding reaches all corners of the district, and takes into account the numerous rural communities in South Kesteven.
Investment will include mobile CCTV, physical improvements to our high streets, investment in arts and heritage initiatives, marketing for South Kesteven, and help for the Council to plan ahead to access further funding.
Head of Economic Development at SKDC, Jon Hinde, said: “This confirmation of Levelling Up investment will help SKDC meet its ambition to support and improve on a raft of positive projects across our communities in South Kesteven. It will also set up some long-lasting initiatives to leave a tangible legacy for our part of Lincolnshire.
“We aim to build on our strong cultural offer to bring something for everyone, from local people to visiting tourists. In the towns themselves, we have identified key areas to get involved, to stimulate further economic benefit and visual improvements to our local communities and places. We have plans to bolster community safety initiatives to target known issues and further protect our residents.
“More than 90% of South Kesteven’s businesses are micro businesses and this funding will bring opportunities to support local, small businesses.
“Ensuring the right support is available to business and stakeholders at the right time for them is paramount and we look forward to delivering this through our Economic Development team and other service areas with help from our partners.”
UKSPF will provide funding for
Communities and place:
improve overall pride of place and residents/businesses satisfaction
create priority investment areas to stimulate further economic benefits
improving the cultural offer
maintain a strong visitor website
build on good transport links
Supporting local business:
support innovation
tailor business support to start-up and small businesses
commit to becoming carbon neutral
give tailored business support
appoint a Business Engagement Officer
People and skills:
Improve people’s life chances to succeed through skills and training
Encourage digital skills
South Kesteven District Council will act as the lead local authority and has been allocated £3,898,582 for local investment to be spent by March 2025.
To unlock UKSPF funding, local authorities were asked to complete an investment plan, setting out how they intended to use and deliver the funding. SKDC submitted its investment plan to the Government in August 2022 for assessment – and it is this plan which has been approved.
Since the summer the Council has been allocated a further £540,460 from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs for the delivery of the Rural England Prosperity Fund. SKDC is awaiting approval of this programme.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.