Bury’s £40 million bid to regenerate our town centres

Bury has officially submitted bids totalling £40 million to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund for vital regeneration projects.

If successful, the money will be used to accelerate the transformative regeneration programme already being delivered in Radcliffe, and bolster Bury’s town centre economy around our famous Bury Market.

The Levelling Up Fund was announced in the 2021 Budget and bids can be submitted for capital building projects including transport projects, regeneration and town centre investment and cultural investment.

Councils can submit one bid (maximum £20m) per Parliamentary constituency. In Bury’s case, this means Radcliffe regeneration (Bury South) and Bury Market/town centre (Bury North).

News of Bury’s bids is expected in the autumn. The total cost of both schemes is estimated at £62 million.

Councillor Eamonn O’Brien, leader of the council, said: “Response, recovery and regeneration are the over-riding priorities for the council, and with these bids we are stepping up our ambitions to create the largest regeneration in a generation for the people of our borough.

“We are forging our own plans to bounce back post-Covid and create prosperity and opportunities for all sections of the community, and we hope the Government will match our ambitions on this.

“The bids will support our aims to transform the heart of Radcliffe, alongside a new high school, leisure centre, retail and offices; and to create a multi-purpose flexi-hall adjacent to Bury Market to make the whole area even more attractive to shoppers and visitors.

“We look forward to hearing some good news from the Government so we can drive forward the regeneration of our town centres.”

The Radcliffe proposal

The Levelling Up bid is for a new civic hub, to play a central rile in the Radcliffe Regeneration masterplan.

The civic hub will be a modern new build, located on the south block of the existing 1960s precinct and will contain leisure, library, and learning facilities, council and NHS services to support wellness and skills development, as well as high quality retail, food and beverage outlets, and community events space.

Wider regeneration includes: refurbishment of the market basement and the revamping of market chambers; new leisure facilities; a new secondary school on the Coney Green site: and strategies for housing and transport.

For more details, visit https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15242

The Bury proposal

The flexi hall will comprise a large, state-of-the-art, carbon neutral, multifunctional events space that can support market stalls, 'pop-up' trading, live performance, and community events. The development will also include a café bar, an area dedicated to office functions, and space dedicated to the provision of workshops, co-worker space or small business start-ups.

The flexi hall will be used to complement the market's offer and expand the diversity of groups who use the market, without losing or alienating existing customers. As such, the flexi hall will be used to support:

• Wellbeing programmes - especially targeted at older people and the key groups already using the market. These will support independent living, healthy eating, and living well.
• Enterprise programmes - focusing on digital skills and businesses, linked to students and graduates of Bury College.
• Pop-up trading, the flexi hall can provide much needed space to support food and drink festivals and seasonal events such as Christmas markets.
• Cultural performance and events space

For more details, go to https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=16309

ENDS

Press release issued: 6 July 2021.

Picture: Council leader Eamonn O’Brien submits Bury’s £40 million bids to the Government’s Levelling Up fund.