UK Shared Prosperity Fund
Forest of Dean District Council has been awarded £1 million over 3 years from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). The funding is allocated as follows:
|
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25 |
|
£119,468 |
£238,936 |
£641,596 |
UKSPF is designed to take the place of European funding which has now run out. The Council has submitted a ‘Local Investment Plan’ for the UKSPF, setting out how we propose to use the funding, which was approved in December 2022 meaning we can now proceed with projects to support organisations and community groups.
UKSPF has three themes for investment - 1) Communities & Place, 2) Supporting Local Business each funded from April 2022 to March 2025 and 3) People & Skills funded in 2024/25 only.
More information on the UK Shared Prosperity Fund can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
The issues we’re looking to address
UKSPF seeks to address a whole range of issues through a range of ‘interventions’ prescribed by the Government, from which local councils can choose. Forest of Dean District Council is looking to:
- Support the 4 town centres and larger villages
- Support organisations to undertake research and technical work to develop plans to improve local places
- Encourage active travel, like cycling and walking
- Support community projects and businesses seeking to tackle the climate crisis, including helping make buildings more energy efficient and making sure the skills exist locally to do this work
- Create good quality, well-paid jobs for local people and help more businesses to start up, expand and survive
- Promoting the Forest of Dean as a visitor destination and a film friendly location to encourage more TV & Film production
How decisions are made
We’ve already run an application process for Year One (2022/23) of the UKSPF. The applications were assessed and scored against the aims of the funds and our own local priorities. Three Evaluation Panels, consisting of Cabinet Members and officers made the final recommendation to the Council on which projects to support.
UKSPF Year One Projects
The list of projects we are supporting through the UKSPF in Year One (2022/23 financial year) can be found below:
|
Intervention |
Year One Projects |
2022/23 Revenue |
2022/23 Capital |
Total |
|
|
Allocation |
£107,521 |
£11,947 |
£119,468 |
|
4% administration |
£4,779 |
|||
|
Total to allocate |
£103,220 |
£11,469 |
£114,689 |
|
|
Communities and Place |
|
|
|
|
|
Support for active travel enhancements |
FoDDC Active Travel Strategy & Action Plan |
£8,947 |
£6,553 |
£15,500 |
|
Improvements to town centres & high streets |
FoDDC Public Toilets Improvements |
– |
£3,039 |
£3,039 |
|
Support for 4 new feasibility studies |
|
£18,000 £18,000 £10,000 £20,000 |
- - - - |
£18,000 £18,000 £10,000 £20,000 |
|
Supporting Local Business |
|
|
||
|
Development and promotion of the visitor economy |
Visit Dean Wye - Film friendly & digital marketing campaigns |
2,150 |
- |
2,150 |
|
Strengthening local enterprise |
Forest Economic Partnership - Secretariat core costs |
2,000 |
- |
2,000 |
|
Supporting decarbonisation and improving the natural environment |
FEP Action on Climate - Collaboration Tool |
10,000 |
- |
10,000 |
|
Supporting decarbonisation and improving the natural environment |
FoDDC - Low Carbon Energy Business Support |
16,000 |
- |
16,000 |
|
|
Total |
£105,097 |
£9,592 |
£114,689 |