Next steps agreed on how to match government funding
Hastings Town Deal Board and Hastings Borough Council have approved the next steps of the six year programme by agreeing how the projects in the Town Investment Plan will match the funding offered by government.
Back in June 2021, Hastings, along with over 40 other towns and cities was awarded a slice of the governments £3.6bn Towns Fund. Hastings was offered £24.3m of funding, which like other towns was less than what our original bid was for. The government gave the green light to all projects listed in our Town Investment Plan, but left the decision on how to meet the funding gap up to the Town Deal Board and the Council - as the lead organisation.
“Overall a fair assessment and reduction and better than just a blanket reduction for everyone…it was firm but fair”.
Since the news broke of our funding allocation, each project’s Lead has worked with an independent assessor and the programme team to consider if their project could find other funding sources or slightly reduce what they would deliver. It was important to make sure that these reductions didn’t lose the transformation potential of the Town Deal programme and that the vision and ambitions around new jobs, skills, homes, leisure and cultural facilities and visitor/public spaces could still be achieved.
One project lead/board member commented that they felt the approach meant an “overall fair assessment and reduction and better than just a blanket reduction for everyone…it was firm but fair”.
The information will now be sent to government (end of August 2021) for them to agree, with project leads then completing and submitting their detailed business cases for approval (by mid 2022), before being able to access the funding and deliver their projects.
Below is a table of each of the Hastings Towns Fund projects and how the projects have been matched to meet the government funding allocation:
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Programme Theme |
Project |
Town Fund request |
Proposed reduction |
Revised TF ask |
% reduction |
Enterprise & employment infrastructure |
Churchfield industrial estate |
£2,750,000 |
£2,000,000 |
£750,000 |
73% |
Enterprise Space, Ponswood |
£220,000 |
Nil |
£220,000 |
Nil |
|
Hastings co-working, flexible office and community space |
£112,500 |
Nil |
£112,500 |
Nil |
|
Green low carbon skills & economy |
Green construction, energy and vehicle training centre |
£2,677,000 |
£133,850 |
£2,543,150 |
5% |
Broadening Futures Together |
£402,000 |
Nil |
£402,000 |
Nil |
|
Hastings Castle world heritage destination |
Hastings Castle |
£3,500,000 |
£175,000 |
£3,325,000 |
5% |
Town to Sea creative quarter |
12 Claremont |
£1,800,000 |
£90,000 |
£1,710,000 |
5% |
Cambridge road development |
£1,500,000 |
£75,000 |
£1,425,000 |
5% |
|
OB Creative Digital Hub |
£755,000 |
£37,750 |
£717,250 |
5% |
|
Town centre core |
Town centre core (phase 1 projects) |
£10,000,000 |
£2,000,000 |
£8,000,000 |
20% |
Town centre public realm & green connections |
Town centre public realm & green connections |
£3,000,000 |
£184,900 |
£2,815,100 |
6% |
Town living |
Town living |
£1,500,000 |
£500,000 |
£1,000,000 |
33% |
SUB-TOTAL |
£28,216,500 |
£5,196,500 |
£23,020,000 |
||
Accelerator Project addition (The Source Courtyard lift installation) |
(£65,000) |
£65,000 |
|||
PROJECT TOTALS |
£28,216,500 |
£5,131,500 |
£23,085,000 |
||
Management & Administration 2021 - 2026 |
£1,215,000 |
||||
TOTAL |
£24,300,000 |
More detailed information on the project reprioritisation process can be found here as part of the Hastings Town Deal board meeting agenda and minutes.
Links to Project pages:
Enterprise & Employment Infrastructure ➝
Green Low Carbon Skills & Economy ➝
Town Centre Public Realm & Green Connections ➝
Town to Sea Creative Quarter ➝
Hastings Castle World Heritage Destination ➝
