Bids for £40million funding to be made for Tendring towns

Tendring District Council’s (TDC) Cabinet has agreed to submit proposals to the Government’s Levelling Up funding scheme.

Funding bids totalling £40million are to be made to regenerate two coastal towns. The funding is aimed to breathe new life into communities and boosting business.

The bids of up to £20m each will be made for Clacton and Harwich for a variety of reasons. For instance; removing eyesores, helping tackle housing needs, support up-and-coming businesses and providing community facilities.

Match-funding

Cabinet also agreed to allocate £2.3m towards match-funding for the bids, signalling TDC’s commitment to the projects.

The Clacton proposal includes projects to redevelop Carnarvon House and the neighbouring library to provide new homes. In addition, it will provide start-up business units, a new library and Adult Community Learning Centre.

Meanwhile, the bid for Harwich and Dovercourt is based around the Dovercourt Masterplan Revisited which was adopted in 2019. It includes proposals to redevelop the Milton Road car park, refurbishment of Harwich library, and public realm improvements.

Positive Feedback

The council received positive feedback from Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) officials on an initial bid for Clacton in round one of funding.

TDC leader Neil Stock OBE said the bids offered a real opportunity to grow the economies of both town centres.

He said: “If successful, these projects will enable us to replace eyesore sites with developments that help to tackle housing need, support up-and-coming businesses, provide community facilities for all of our residents, as well as improving the street scene.

“We have consistently entered really strong bids and historically been successful in attracting government funding for Tendring – in recognition of the huge potential and opportunity we have here. It is a highly competitive process, but by submitting these bids we are flying the flag for our district.

“Having seen some of the debate about the bids on social media, I would remind people that the council has no control over what shops or restaurants are brought into towns. However, by improving infrastructure and by making positive investment as these bids will, if successful, we can create an environment which then encourages further private investment.”

Investment

The government's plan for Levelling Up aims to increase public investment in research and development outside South East England by 40%, by 2030.

In October 2021, the government revealed the successful bids for the first round of the £4.8bn Levelling-Up Fund. A total of just under £1.7bn was shared between 105 towns, cities and areas.

TDC leader Neil Stock OBE, said:

“If successful, these projects will enable us to replace eyesore sites with developments that help to tackle housing need, support up-and-coming businesses, provide community facilities for all of our residents, as well as improving the street scene.

“We have consistently entered really strong bids and historically been successful in attracting government funding for Tendring – in recognition of the huge potential and opportunity we have here. It is a highly competitive process, but by submitting these bids we are flying the flag for our district.”