James Grundy MP has welcomed the announcement that the Government's Levelling Up Fund has been approved for Leigh and the benefits it will bring to residents and businesses across the constituency.
Jacob Young MP, Minister for Levelling Up, has stated that after listening to Parliamentary feedback on the awarding of the Levelling Up Fund in constituencies, the Government had decided not to run a bidding competition for the third round of funding, instead drawing on the second round's ‘ready to deliver’ proposals.
This included Wigan Councils bid for an award of £11,389,554 for Leigh town centre to go toward improvements to Leigh Civic Square, the regeneration of high street shop fronts in places such as Bradshawgate in Leigh, and for the refurbishment of Leigh Market.
The Minister for Levelling Up will now contact Wigan Council to confirm that the proposals in this now successful bid can still be delivered for the same projects, value for money and can still be delivered by May 2026.
Commenting, the Leigh MP said:
“While I am delighted to hear that the Government have awarded £11,389,554 of the Levelling Up Fund to Leigh, I am disappointed that a third round of bidding has not gone ahead to allow the case to be made to resubmit an updated bid for the full £20 million available.
“I welcome, however, that the fund has been successful this year and that should the Council confirm that the proposals in the bid are still deliverable, Leigh will benefit from the Levelling Up Fund.
“I am hopeful that concerns over the challenges in implementing these projects with the new fund can be addressed in advance and in a way that works best for local people, businesses and market traders”