£3.4m to help the Moorlands prosper

Published on 14 December 2022

Staffordshire Moorlands District Council has welcomed the announcement that funding of up to £3.4m is set to be invested in increasing life chances for residents and helping to build pride in place.

UK Shared Prosperity Funding (UKSPF) of £416,133 has been confirmed for 2022/23 alongside indicative settlements up to March 2025 which would bring the total to £3,428,937.

The UKSPF is part of the national Levelling Up agenda and is based on three investment priorities:

·       Communities and place

·       Supporting local business

·       People and skills

A local UKSPF Board has been set up in the Moorlands to determine a delivery plan and agree timescales for areas of investment across the District. The Board will meet early in the New Year and more details will be made available following that meeting.

Councillor Keith Flunder, Cabinet Member with responsibility for regeneration and business support, said: "This is very welcome investment in our District - it's great news for local businesses who want to grow and thrive and residents who feel they would benefit from opportunities to develop and improve their lives through work or learning new skills.

"We now need to ensure that this funding is spent in ways that empower them to make the most of their chances and to ensure the Moorlands remains a place that we can all be proud of living and working in.

"We've established a Board to make sure this funding is invested to best effect. It meets for the first time in the coming weeks and I look forward to being able to share more details of our plans in the New Year."

The total amount the Moorlands will receive over the next three years is subject to Government approval of the Council's governance arrangements for distributing the funding which is expected before Christmas