By Jamie Waller, Local Democracy Reporter
Bassetlaw District Council has promised to move quickly with regeneration projects after accepting another £40m of Levelling Up funding.
The authority was recently awarded £20m each from both the Levelling Up Partnerships and the Long-Term Plan for Towns, which target the most in-need areas.
This is on top of £17.9m already granted in January to revitalise Worksop town centre, including turning the Priory Centre into a leisure and entertainment facility.
The council’s ruling cabinet formally accepted the new grants at meeting on Tuesday (November 28), which will then go to council.
Leader Councillor James Naish (Lab) said: “This is a significant amount of money for an authority like ours.
“It will present capacity challenges to deliver so much.
“We know that the government expects tight timelines and we will be expected to turn this around quickly. It’s a challenge we will have to face.”
Worksop was one of 55 towns selected for Long-Term Plan funding, with priority given to more deprived areas.
A full plan will be submitted by summer 2024, with the first slice of funding released shortly after.
Cllr Naish added: “If we don’t move quickly, we will be at the bottom of the pile for engagement. There will be 55 towns, which could cause capacity issues on the Government’s end.”
The Levelling-Up Partnership will secure money for regenerations in Harworth, Bircotes, Retford, Tuxford and Worksop town centres.
A health, wellbeing and exercise facility will also be created in the Priory Centre, and new educational workshop centre in Worksop.
A Town Board will be set up to drive the improvements, led by a non-political chair such as a business leader.
Bassetlaw’s full council will be asked to approve the decisions at a later date.
