A £1 million bid for government funding for regeneration and improvement schemes in Carlisle has been successful.
Carlisle is one of a hundred towns and cities in England to share £80 million to boost regeneration, helping them to build back better. Two proposed schemes in Carlisle will benefit from the funding:
- The remediation of Caldew Riverside – £850,000.
- Improvements to Bitts Park – £150,000.
The funding bids were submitted by Carlisle City Council in August this year. Cllr Paul Nedved, Portfolio holder for Economy, Enterprise and Housing welcomed the funding announcement. He said: “I am absolutely delighted that Carlisle is set to receive this accelerated funding. The regeneration of Caldew Riverside is critical part of a major jigsaw for the redevelopment of Carlisle. The funding massively speeds up the process of redeveloping the site.
“We have been in discussion for some time with Homes England about the redevelopment of that site. But the big stumbling block has always been the cost of remediation. Hopefully this will go a long way towards this work being done.
“Bitts Park is an important recreational area and we’ll be looking at how the site can be improved. We are aware of the sensitivity of the location but are also that it is a popular site that could include an improved offer for families and visitors.”
The successful funds are part of the overall £3.6 billion Towns Fund money allocated. The accelerated funding was provided to some projects to get them off the ground.
All 101 towns selected to work towards a Town Deal were given a funding allocation with proposals submitted to the MCHLG in August, before being reviewed by officials and a final decision made by ministers.
The government was looking for projects that would improve parks and green spaces and sustainable transport links and improve town centres including:
- repurposing empty commercial properties.
- demolishing and/or remediating sites where this will have an immediate benefit and accelerate any redevelopment proposals.
Carlisle City Council will now follow the necessary processes and the projects will be subject to formal approvals being in place.
