Levelling Up Fund – Round 2

Like many no doubt, Earth have been supporting local authorities submit their Round Two Levelling Up Fund bids to Government.

What is clear is that levelling up is here to stay. In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s Lottery funding was additional to central government funding and fuelled the renaissance of cultural led regeneration in our towns and cities. Strong levelling up funded projects will do the same by regenerating derelict town centre sites, create jobs and rejuvenate town centres with public funding supporting private sector failure.

Of course, there needs to be clear eyed focus on delivery, both on time and on budget, that requires project boards and councils to ensure appropriate governance, but again this is no different to Lottery funded projects and local authorities who embrace this opportunity to deliver and create civic pride in their patch should be rightly rewarded.

Do we like the competitive nature of bidding for funding? Yes, because the additionality nature of the funding enables local authorities to be creative and tangibly invest in physical regeneration. This was a big lesson from the Lottery. The funding was additional to, and the word “additionality” had to be argued. That said, government could say this funding is here to stay so that local authorities have time to develop and resource their bids for future rounds, rather than rushing in early so as not to miss the boat.

Lastly, the suggestion that levelling up simply means relocating funds from the affluent areas to the poorer areas. This zero-sum game misses the point. The principles of levelling up, being to transform places and boost local growth creating pride of place are applicable everywhere. The fund then kicks in where there is market failure and where the public sector needs to demonstrate leadership and the catalytic benefit of this intervention. We agree that it is far harder to argue the need for funding in affluent areas where land and property values are higher, but this does not detract from the principles of levelling up just that the funding cocktail to deliver may be structured differently.

Levelling Up Round Two results will be out this autumn/winter, and Round Three is proposed to be announced next spring. Earth’s advice to councils thinking about Round 3 is don’t wait until Spring 2023, start planning now. There is very little time in the application window to prepare a robust bid and the programme window to compliantly defray the funds and delivery the project is tight.

For Round Two bidders, don’t stop and wait for the result in autumn, keep progressing your project. The LUF compliant project delivery window is tight, and you may need to look at alternative delivery options, if the funding from LUF doesn’t materialise.