WARRINGTON North MP Charlotte Nichols says she is “delighted” to have had confirmation of a provisional award of up to £9,356,342 from the borough council’s levelling up bid.
Subject to passing validation checks the money will go towards “Reconnecting the Settlements” in North Warrington.
Warrington Borough Council’s Levelling Up Bid 2 focused on ‘Reconnecting the settlements’ of Warrington North, with three new active travel routes implemented to improve traffic-free links between the rural settlements of Burtonwood, Winwick and Culcheth and urban Warrington.
The routes would encourage modal shift and active lifestyles, helping improve the health and wellbeing of local people, as well as bringing environmental benefits.
In addition, two existing recreation facilities in Burtonwood would be upgraded:
The derelict pavilion at Burtonwood Recreation Ground would be redeveloped into a landmark structure for accommodating multi-purpose community activities.
Burtonwood Community Centre would be significantly extended to provide improved facilities for sports teams using the local pitches and additional space to support community activities.
Ms Nichols said it was also “nice” to get recognition from the Chancellor as a “particularly effective local MP” in the Autumn Statement.
Minister for Levelling Up Jacob Young MP announced the news in a letter to Ms Nichols stating:
“As announced by the Chancellor at the Autumn Statement, I am delighted to confirm that Warrington Borough Council has been provisionally awarded up to £9,356,342 for Warrington North – Reconnecting the Settlements.
“We have been able to fund five further bids from those submitted at round two of the Levelling Up Fund, which we were not able to fund in either the second or third round, but were assessed as high-quality and ready-to-deliver. I am pleased to say that this project was one such bid.
“I appreciate the hard work that went into the original application, by both you and your local council. I am very keen, as I am sure you are too, to get delivery and spend underway quickly.
“Due to the time that has passed since the application was submitted, we will require a short project validation check to ensure the bid will still benefit from government funding and remains a local priority. We will also ask your local council to confirm that the bid has not changed significantly, is still deliverable by March 2026, and still represents value for money.
“The provisional award of funding is for this specific project so the money cannot be used to support activity that is substantially different. However, we recognise that project adjustments may need to be made due to inflationary pressures. My officials will be in touch with the local council shortly to discuss next steps. If you provided MP priority support for this bid, we have instructed your local authority to engage with you on this.
“I would like to thank you for your ongoing support for the Levelling Up agenda and look forward to working closely with you over the coming months. Once again, congratulations.”
Delighted to have confirmation from @luhc that this is the provisional award of “up to £9,356,342 for Warrington North – Reconnecting the Settlements” (our levelling up bid), and recognition from the Chancellor as a “particularly effective local MP” in the Autumn Statement. https://t.co/Qibkvipvvr
— Charlotte Nichols (@charlotte2153) November 22, 2023
