Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether the forthcoming allocations in the Local Plan for Tameside can deviate from Greater Manchester’s Places for Everyone allocations.
Answered by Stuart Andrew - Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)
Places for Everyone is a joint development plan document which sets out strategic policies for 9 of the 10 Greater Manchester Councils, including Tameside. Delivery of an up to date development plan is key to ensuring the infrastructure and development is in place to contribute towards our goal to Level Up Britain, to boost economic growth, and to progress opportunities for regeneration.
Each of the 9 Councils agreed the pre submission version of Places for Everyone before consultation took place in 2021. The plan was then submitted for examination by a panel of independent Inspectors in February 2022. The strategic policies and allocations proposed in Places for Everyone will be examined for their soundness as part of the examination process, including those in Tameside. If the Plan is found sound the 9 Councils will then decide whether to adopt the plan.
Places for Everyone is a strategic plan and it does not include more detailed area specific policies and allocations, these will be included in each borough’s local plan, such as the emerging Tameside Local Plan, which is at an early stage of preparation with consultation expected later this year.
The Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 requires that in preparing a plan the authority needs to have regard to other local development plan documents. Whilst Tameside Council have indicated they will prepare their plan in conformity with Places for Everyone, legislation does not preclude the local plan from deviating from other local development plan documents, such as Places for Everyone, if there is sound evidence for doing so.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what feedback local authorities and sponsoring hon. Members will receive on unsuccessful bids to the Levelling Up Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
On Wednesday 27 October, the Chancellor announced the outcome of the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, which will see £1.7 billion invested in 105 local infrastructure projects across the UK. Citizens across the UK can expect to see projects getting underway from early 2022.
Those applicants that were unsuccessful in the first round have been contacted. Unsuccessful applicants, who passed the gateway assessment stage, will be offered feedback on their applications.
We will open round 2 in spring 2022 and will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he expects to open a second round of applications for Levelling Up funding.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
On Wednesday 27 October, the Chancellor announced the outcome of the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, which will see £1.7 billion invested in 105 local infrastructure projects across the UK. Citizens across the UK can expect to see projects getting underway from early 2022.
Those applicants that were unsuccessful in the first round have been contacted. Unsuccessful applicants, who passed the gateway assessment stage, will be offered feedback on their applications.
We will open round 2 in spring 2022 and will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether bids to the Levelling Up Fund not announced in the Budget schemes are formally rejected or are held in abeyance for consideration in a further round.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
On Wednesday 27 October, the Chancellor announced the outcome of the first round of the Levelling Up Fund, which will see £1.7 billion invested in 105 local infrastructure projects across the UK. Citizens across the UK can expect to see projects getting underway from early 2022.
Those applicants that were unsuccessful in the first round have been contacted. Unsuccessful applicants, who passed the gateway assessment stage, will be offered feedback on their applications.
We will open round 2 in spring 2022 and will share further details in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, with reference to the Autumn Budget and Spending Review 2021, when he plans to publish details of the application process for the Levelling up parks' fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
The £9 million Levelling Up Parks Fund will create over 100 green spaces across the UK on land which is unused, undeveloped or derelict. Further details on the fund will be announced in due course.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what assessment he has made of the role of local civic pride projects in the levelling-up agenda; and if he will bring forward plans for funding park, public realm and local environmental improvements, as part of that agenda.
Answered by Eddie Hughes
Levelling up is about empowering local leaders and communities to seize their own destiny; boosting living standards, particularly where they are lower; spreading opportunity and improving public services, particularly where they are weak; and restoring local pride in places across the UK. As the most recent part of this agenda, we are investing £9 million to level up urban green spaces across the UK through the Levelling Up Parks Fund. Grants will be given to, and administered by, local authorities, to deliver new green spaces in over 100 of the neighbourhoods most deprived of green space.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what plans he has to increase investment in jobs, skills and transport infrastructure in parts of the Denton and Reddish constituency; and if he will meet with the hon. Member for Denton and Reddish to discuss plans to level-up communities within the Denton and Reddish constituency.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Spending Review demonstrated Government's commitment to Levelling up by supporting community priorities. £1.7 billion was confirmed for the first 107 successful places within the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund. The Greater Manchester area will receive £112.8 million of this first wave, including £19.87 million to regenerate Ashton Town Hall, bordering the Honourable Gentleman’s constituency.
Government recognises that local transport networks, particularly public transport, have been a weakness holding back the productivity of city regions outside London. That's why we have created City Region Sustainable Transport Settlements (CRSTS), providing major city regions with the freedom to address local challenges and improve services. At the Spending Review, we announced £5.7 billion of CRSTS funding for 8 city regions, with Greater Manchester, including Denton and Reddish, receiving the largest single allocation of £1.07 billion. Over the coming months, Transport for Greater Manchester will begin to develop its programme business cases to confirm how their portion of the fund will be used.
Also announced at the Budget was Restoring Your Railways funding to reinstate a passenger rail line between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stockport, which the Honourable Gentleman personally campaigned for. I congratulate him on the success of this campaign and look forward to seeing these proposals develop over the coming months.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
SUGGESTED REDRAFT: To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what weight his Department gives to the level of unemployment in an area when considering a bid to the Levelling-up Fund.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Applications to the Levelling Up Fund were all scored against the published assessment framework set out in the Levelling Up Fund Technical Note. As part of the strategic fit criteria, places were invited to set out the local challenges and barriers to growth, and alignment with wider local priorities and strategies, which were taken into account in our assessment of bids.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, what input he has into the allocation of Restoring Your Railways funding as part of the wider levelling-up agenda; and whether he has seen the bid for the line between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stockport, serving Denton and Reddish South stations.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
My Department has regular input into the Restoring Your Railway Programme at official and Ministerial level. The former Minister for Regional Growth and Local Government, the Hon Member (Luke Hall MP), was on the Restoring Your Railways Ideas Fund Panel which considered the bid for the line between Ashton-under-Lyne and Stockport.
The outcomes were announced on 27 October and the Hon Member's bid to the Ideas Fund for development funding was successful.
Asked by: Andrew Gwynne (Labour - Denton and Reddish)
Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, when he plans to make an announcement relating to the Levelling-up fund bid for a start-up business and employment hub at the former Reddish baths building in Stockport.
Answered by Neil O'Brien
Outcomes from the first round of bids for the Levelling Up Fund were announced on 27 October.