UKSPF – Communities and Place

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Communities and Place

UKSPF funding will be invested in activities to build thriving urban and rural communities and boost pride in place across the North of Tyne area. This will include regenerating high streets and town centres, supporting local cultural activities and events, investing in jobs and wellbeing in the most disadvantaged areas, building capacity in local communities to support themselves, and helping households to reduce energy costs and carbon emissions.

A total of £15.3m UKSPF funding is available to invest in communities and places in the North of Tyne area up to March 2025, of which £11.2m is revenue and £4.1m is capital.

The funding will support projects and activities in three programme areas.

Programme Areas Activities Total UKSPF available Regeneration of our Places Investing in improving our towns, high streets, and rural centres, and growing our local culture and tourism sector including events and festivals, marketing, and our existing Culture and Creative Zones (CCZs). £8.4m Community Partnerships and Programmes Creating Local Community Partnerships in each local authority area to identify priorities and deliver long-term place investment plans. The focus will be on supporting community groups to build capacity in urban and rural communities to deliver change and promote inclusive growth. £5.9m Energy Efficiency and Lower Energy Costs Providing a one-stop-shop for energy efficiency and retrofit advice and support, helping households to reduce energy costs and emissions. £1.0m

Communities and place activities will deliver the following UKSPF outputs and outcomes:

  • Jobs created and safeguarded
  • Buildings and public realm developed and improved
  • Increased footfall
  • Local events supported
  • Visitors attracted
  • Organisations receiving support and funding
  • Volunteering opportunities supported
  • People attending training
  • Households supported to take up energy efficiency measures

Key headlines

  • The Government has identified investment in communities and places as a key priority for UKSPF funding as part of its Levelling Up policy and wants more funding to be allocated to place-based regeneration compared to the previous round of European Union funding.
  • In addition to the planned UKSPF funding for communities and places identified above NTCA is providing millions of pounds in additional funding for other community regeneration activities. This includes Community Hubs, the High Streets Innovation Programme, Cultural & Creative Zones, tourism events and products, and our crowdfunding platform.
  • This means that total investment in local communities and places in the North of Tyne area up to March 2025 will be significantly greater than the £15.3m available through UKSPF alone.

Approach to allocating UKSPF funding

The available UKSPF funding has been earmarked to support the following projects and activities in each Programme area, as described in the North of Tyne UKSPF Investment Plan approved by Government. For each project / activity, the approach to allocating the funding and the timescales are shown.

Local authorities, VCSE sector and community organisations are expected to deliver most of this activity as they are responsible for regeneration in local communities and places.

Regeneration of our Places Project / activity description Approach Timescales High Streets and Towns Programme - Investing in the regeneration and transformation of local high streets and town centres in the North of Tyne area. The existing approved High Streets and Towns Programme funded by NTCA Investment Fund will be extended, using UKSPF funding to support more activities in these high streets. This project is being led by the Local Authorities as part of their place regeneration responsibilities. Key contacts • Newcastle City Council sarah.carr@newcastle.gov.uk • North Tyneside Council fay.hodgson@northytyneside.gov.uk • Northumberland County Council karen.donaldson@northumberland.gov.uk Additional activity underway from summer 2023 Rural Place-Based Regeneration - Investing in inclusive economic growth and environmental stewardship in two local area pilots in rural Northumberland. Led by Northumberland County Council as part of its responsibilities for rural growth, environmental stewardship, and community regeneration. Working with partners the Council will develop two innovative place-based pilots that will seek to improve the balance between stewardship and rural growth within their areas in a way that multiplies the environmental, social and economic benefits. To be funded through combination of UKSPF, Rural England Prosperity Fund, and NTCA Investment Fund. This project is in the very early stages of development so no further information is available at this time. Key contacts • Northumberland County Council Tony.Brown01@northumberland.gov.uk Activity underway from summer 2023 Cultural and Creative Zones (CCZs) - Investing in the growth of cultural and creative industries in our city and town centres to drive forward local place regeneration. The existing approved CCZs Programme funded by NTCA Investment Fund will be extended, with UKSPF funding invested to support more activities in the existing zones (North Shields, Berwick-upon-Tweed, Newcastle Clayton Street Corridor). This project is being led by the Local Authorities as part of their place regeneration responsibilities. Key contacts • Newcastle City Council vikki.leaney@newcastle.gov.uk • North Tyneside Council fay.hodgson@northytyneside.gov.uk • Northumberland County Council Tony.Brown01@northumberland.gov.uk Additional activity underway from summer 2023 Tourism Events and Activities - Boosting the North of Tyne visitor economy and regenerating local places through tourism and cultural events, visitor experiences, and tourism campaigns. The existing approved Tourism Programme funded by NTCA Investment Fund will be extended, with UKSPF funding invested to support a package of tourism projects (including events, visitor experiences, and campaigns) identified through previous calls for bids by NTCA. The projects will be delivered by Local Authorities, Destination Management Organisations (DMOs), and other tourism bodies. Additional activity underway from summer 2023Community Partnerships and Programmes Project / activity description Approach Timescales Community Partnerships - Three local Community Partnerships will be created, one each in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. The Partnerships will identify their priorities and develop long-term investment plans to address issues affecting the most deprived communities, focusing on inclusive growth, wellbeing, and pride in place. They will build the capacity of VCSE and community organisations to meet identified needs and will involve the community in making decisions about local activities. Led by the local authorities in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland, as part of their community regeneration responsibilities. The Councils will work with local VCSE organisations, community groups, and other agencies (health, education, housing, employment, community safety) to develop the Partnerships in each area. VCSE & community organisations will be able to access UKSPF funding and support via the Local Authorities. Key contacts • Newcastle City Council victoria.powell@newcastle.gov.uk • North Tyneside Council anya.lawrence@northtyneside.gov.uk • Northumberland County Council Kevin.higgins@northumberland.gov.uk Community Partnerships to be developed and activities underway during spring / summer 2023 Crowdfunding - Providing local people and groups with the opportunity to create and fund projects to improve and celebrate the local area. Crowdfunding works by encouraging projects to raise a proportion of their funding via direct donations from local people, groups and businesses. The existing approved Crowdfund North of Tyne Programme (managed by delivery partner, Spacehive) will be extended, using UKSPF funding to support more crowdfunding projects in local areas. There will be five rounds of funding enabling local groups to access up to £5,000 each towards their community projects (or up to £1,000 for individuals). Key contact emma.patterson@northoftyne-ca.gov.uk For further info https://www.northoftyne-ca.gov.uk/projects/crowdfund-north-of-tyne/ Additional activity underway from summer 2023 Volunteering Programme - A major programme creating volunteering opportunities to support social action projects in communities across the North of Tyne area. Bids will be invited through an open call process from organisations / partnerships interested in leading and managing a single, North of Tyne wide Programme. The call for bids will be published on this page in due course. Call for bids spring 2023Energy Efficiency Programme Project / activity description Approach Timescales Energy Efficiency One-Stop-Shop - Providing a one-stop-shop Energy Advice Centre providing trusted advice to residents on energy consumption and the installation of energy efficiency measures, helping to reduce cost of living pressures and work towards net zero emissions. Work is currently underway to develop a business model, costs and funding requirements for the one-stop-shop Energy Advice Centre. When this development work is complete, NTCA will issue a call to appoint a lead organisation to deliver the project. Call for Lead Delivery Partner to be issued later in 2023In addition to the above, further commissioning of other UKSPF communities and place projects / activities may be undertaken in due course. Information will be posted on this page at the appropriate time.

Information for organisations interested in delivering UKSPF funded communities and place activities

  • Most of the UKSPF funding will be invested through the Programmes described above, which are being led by the local authorities in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and Northumberland. As some development work is already underway many organisations will already be involved in the development of the Programmes set out above. However, other organisations interested in being involved in these Programmes should express their interest using the contact details above.
  • Where UKSPF funding will be allocated through open bidding calls, these opportunities and specifications will be published on this page in line with the timescales shown above.
  • Updates about forthcoming opportunities will also be provided via NTCA’s social media channels.

If you have questions or comments about the information on this page, please contact ukspf@northoftyne-ca.gov.uk