On 15 March the Government announced as part of the Budget 2023 that the Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) has granted a further £220m of funding to support 16 shortlisted regeneration project bids. Stalybridge is one of the successful bids and has now been award £19.9 million from Government Funds to move forward regeneration plans for the town centre.
The plans include repair work to the Civic Hall to support its reuse and enhancement including housing the Astley Cheetham Art Gallery and library. Unlocking brownfield and other sites for future residential and commercial development to help the facilitation of further private sector investment. It will also include improvements to the public realm, pedestrian routes and access to public transport.
Cllr Gerald Cooney, Executive Leader, Tameside Council stated “This is fantastic news for Stalybridge, we felt we had a strong bid around our plans and we were disappointed when it was unsuccessful in round two of the Levelling Up fund, and so this is welcome news for Tameside.
“The monies will allow us to build on the existing work underway in Stalybridge, supporting the GM Mayor’s Town Centre Challenge and complementing the emerging work in relation to the Stalybridge High Street Heritage Action Zone (HSHAZ) including the projects on the Heritage Walk, Civic Hall and public realm improvements.”
“This work will also be closely linked with the improvements to our public and greenspaces and supporting cultural activities following the successful £2m proposal to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) for borough wide projects.”
“We remain committed as always to improving all our town centres and making them great places for everyone to live, work and visit and we will continue to seek opportunities to bring further investment into the borough and bid for funding pots where they become available.”
For further information on the work currently underway in Stalybridge, please go to Stalybridge High Street Heritage Action Zone (tameside.gov.uk)