Issue - meetings

Report of Nottingham City Council’s Corporate Director, Development & Growth with an update by Anthony May, Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire County Council

a)  Levelling Up Fund

b)  Community Renewal Fund

c)  Freeport / East Midlands Development Corporation

d)  D2N2 Local Enterprise Partnership

Chris Henning, Corporate Director for Development and Growth, Nottingham City Council, introduced the report providing an overview of current regional economic issues, including newly available funding, which was announced by the Chancellor in the recent budget, and Anthony May, Chief Executive, Nottinghamshire County Council provided an update on Freeports and the potential changes regarding the Local Enterprise Partnerships, and highlighted the following points:

Levelling Up Fund (LUF)

a)  £4bn has been made available in England to invest in high value local infrastructure during the next four years, focusing on transport schemes, urban regeneration, and cultural and heritage assets, and replaces previous funds available through the Local Enterprise Partnership;

b)  whilst competitive bidding is required, preference will be given to ‘Category 1’ areas, where need has been identified by Central Government, including Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood,  and Nottingham City, although all Local Authorities can apply;

c)  any schemes submitted must be ready for immediate development, can include multiple projects, and can have a value of up to £20 million per MP constituency (potentially £50m for large transport schemes);

d)  further clarity is to be sought regarding whether more than one bid can be submitted per category area, such as Nottingham which is served by 3 MPs;

e)  the deadline for submitting applications within round 1 is 18 June 2021, with the expectation that works would start in the same financial year;

f)  the arrangement whereby Local Authorities will lead on the bid submission demonstrates a shift away from the Local Enterprise Partnership framework;

Community Renewal Fund

g)  £220 million has been allocated for pilot schemes in the UK, in preparation for the post-EU Shared Prosperity Fund, which will be launched in 2022, acting as a bridge from European Union funding and totalling £1.5bn;

h)  the four priorities of the fund are skills, business support, communities and place, and supporting people into employment;

i)  the lead authorities (Nottinghamshire County Council and Nottingham City Council) for each ‘place’ (district, borough or unitary council) is able to bid for funding of up to £3 million with an application deadline of 18 June 2021;

j)  4 priority ‘places’ have been identified by Central Government as Bassetlaw, Mansfield, Newark and Sherwood, and Nottingham City, which will receive preference in the competitive bidding process and potentially access to an additional £20,000 for funding capacity.

Freeports

k)  Freeports are arrangements for simplified customs documents and the avoidance of  import tariffs provided the goods receive added value before being exported;

l)  the East Midlands Freeport bid is ambitious and covers 3 sites in and around the Airport including the Seagrove Logistics Hub and Maritime Rail Head, one at Uniper, and a new site, Intermodal, in and around Derby and Derbyshire;

m)  this bid has successfully progressed to the next phase of providing an outline business case which is to be submitted by partners (including private sector, land owners and local authorities), to convince Central Government that the governance and programme management is in order. If approved, then  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12