Forest of Dean Levelling Up Fund Delivery Programme
Announced in the UK Budget in March 2021, the Levelling Up Fund (LUF) is investing in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK. Nationally, the £4.8 billion fund is will supporting regeneration and town centre investment, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets. Approved projects also align to and support the Government’s Net Zero goals demonstrating low or zero carbon best practice.
In June 2021, the District Council submitted a multiple project bid containing three interrelated projects and successfully secured £20 million capital grant support.
Levelling Up the Forest Delivery Programme
Following funding approval the Forest of Dean District Council has been working in partnership with Hartpury University and Hartpury College and Cinderford Town Council to deliver the successful bid.
The Levelling Up the Forest Programme aims to:
- Build connections across the Forest, helping to join our communities
- Help our local entrepreneurs and homegrown talent find a home in the Forest, growing our economy and providing jobs by developing new, suitable space for businesses
- Provide more and better leisure opportunities, helping people stay active and healthy through new leisure facilities and active travel options
- Provide new further and higher education opportunities so our young people have more choice to get a good education
From the outset, all 3 project locations were designed with carbon reduction, renewable energy and electric vehicle/bike charging points in mind to help to tackle the climate emergency.
There are three key elements to the delivery programme:
Investment at Five Acres
The £9.12m proposal for the Five Acres site will create a new leisure and community hub and brings a derelict site back into use providing modern leisure, community and business facilities for the area, a new adventure play space, multi-gym, and an artificial all weather sports pitch. The leisure and community hub would house a satellite site for Hartpury University and Hartpury College, bringing specialist education opportunities for young people to the Forest.
The wider site will be leased from West Dean Parish Council and is being developed in partnership with the Football Foundation and will also include modern workspaces for local businesses and help promote active travel by connecting existing walking, wheeling and cycling routes.
Levelling Up funding has enabled demolition and clearance and initial redevelopment proposals secured planning approval in 2024. These proposals are being redesigned to ensure that the new community facilities that are both financially and environmentally sustainable.
University, Careers and Enterprise Learning Centre at Hartpury campus
The flagship University Innovation, Careers and Enterprise Learning Centre, has used £10m to build on the current Hartpury University and Hartpury College site. The building is awaiting internal fit-out and will support growth in student numbers, providing new opportunities to over 16’s in the Forest. The Centre would focus on encouraging and supporting local young people to stay in education or start their own business in the area.
The new Centre will house Environmental Laboratory which aims to spearhead new companies focussed on environmental technology based in the Forest of Dean.
Regeneration in Cinderford Town Centre
A total £880,000 has been largely invested in Cinderford town centre, regenerating a number of key buildings and bringing them back into productive use to provide modern co-working spaces for start up businesses, new community facilities, arts and events space.
The former HSBC bank is now home to MusicWorks, Rheola House has accessible, co-working spaces for hire and the Methodist Church has been renamed The Wesley, a Listed Building and local heritage asset which has been sensitively refurbished. All three buildings are now operating as great spaces for residents to meet, work and socialise in, boosting town centre footfall.
Government guidance
Below you can find links to information the Government has relating to Levelling Up in the UK. Please note, the term Levelling Up is no longer used as part of the Government’s growth agenda:
