New plans to level up Hull and Sandwell

New regeneration plans have been announced in a bid to level up Hull and Sandwell.

Levelling Up Partnerships (LUPs) will see tailored regeneration plans rolled out across twenty of England’s areas most in need of levelling up, with Hull and Sandwell the first to benefit.

The areas have been selected based on analysis set out in the Levelling Up White Paper which measured areas against metrics such as educational attainment, gross pay, and life expectancy.

The two areas will receive £20 million each to address challenges specific to their locations.

Hull currently has a growing green energy sector, which provides a range of employment opportunities including the manufacturing of wind turbine blades. Working with Hull City Council, DLUHC will invest in improved training facilities, including investing in the city’s colleges, which will train the next generation of workers.

Sandwell has the highest rate of obesity for children in year 6 in the country and the LUP is tailored to the area’s historically low educational attainment and health outcomes.

Sandwell will be given £2 million to improve facilities in the Millennium Community centre, providing space for pop-up health hubs and £1.65 million going towards Wednesbury’s green spaces.

Secretary of state for Levelling Up Michael Gove said: "Levelling Up Partnerships are about delivering long term solutions for local areas, working closely with communities on tailored interventions to overcome their unique challenges and seize new opportunities.

"That’s why I’m thrilled to be announcing the first two Levelling Up Partnerships in Sandwell and Hull today backed by £40m of government funding.

"No matter where you live in the UK, everyone should be given the chance to stay local, but go far."

West Midlands Combined Authority Mayor, Andy Street, said: "This Levelling Up Partnership delivers very welcome funding for local projects that will make a real difference in the lives of local people. That impact covers a wide range of areas including enhancing job prospects, reinvigorating town centres like Wednesbury, ensuring a better start in life for young people and providing opportunities to get more active in nearby green spaces.

"This funding will strengthen communities and boost economic growth. I’m particularly pleased to see more than £11m earmarked for the clean-up of the former sewage works at Friar Park – paving the way for a new urban village. The size of more than 32 football pitches, this is one of the largest brownfield sites in the country - set to be transformed with the construction of more than 600 new homes. The WMCA has been working closely with Sandwell Council on this scheme and this announcement is great news for the project.

"Local collaboration – in partnership with Government – will enable us to continue to change lives for the better right across our region in the months and years ahead."

Image: john bannon, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons