Issue - meetings

          The Board considered a report of the Executive Director, Environment and Regeneration, which set out details to date about the Long-Term Plan for Towns funding which was allocated to Runcorn in the Spring Budget 2024.

          In the Spring Budget 2024, the Government announced Phase 2 of their long-term plan for Towns programme which identified Runcorn as one of 20 additional towns across the country which would benefit from £19.5m endowment style funding to invest over a 10 year period in local priorities.

          In order to access the funding Halton would need to produce a Long- Term Plan for Runcorn. The Government had issued guidance on 1 October 2023 which required each town to establish a Town Board to oversee the development of the long-term plan. Halton proposed to repurpose its existing Town Fund Board, in line with Government guidance to ensure compliance with this guidance and to avoid duplication.

          The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) had released £50k of capacity funding to the Council to establish a Town Deal Board. A further £200k capacity funding would be issued to develop the plan which was to be submitted by 1 November 2024.

          Appendix 1 to the report detailed the Government list of interventions which had already been assessed as having a strong case for investment, value for money and benefit to cost ratio.

          RESOLVED: That

1)    the Board accepts external grant funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) of £19.5m in relation to the Long-Term Plan for Towns (LTPT);

2)    agree that the Council will act as Accountable Body for the LTPT Programme;

3)    the Executive Director, Environment and Regeneration, in consultation with the Deputy Leader, be authorised to amend the Towns Fund Board terms of reference and membership to reflect the criteria of the Long-Term Funding for Towns criteria;

4)    in consultation with the Town Deal Board, the Deputy Leader and Member of Parliament for Runcorn and Helsby, authority be delegated to the Executive Director, Environment and Regeneration, to spend the £200,000 capacity funding to develop a ten-year Vision and three-year Investment Plan to submit to Government by 1 November 2024; and

5)    delegate authority to the Executive Director, Environment and Regeneration and the Section 151 Officer, to agree and complete Funding Agreements with partners that will deliver the LTPT for Runcorn projects on behalf of the Council, as the Accountable Body for the Programme.