A £9.5 million funding request to help pay for the restoration of the Madeira Terraces has been given the backing of the area’s political, business and education leaders.
The bid, to the second round of the government’s Levelling Up Fund, is one of three applications for almost £50 million in total submitted by councils in the Greater Brighton area.
Details of the three bids were shared with the Greater Brighton Economic Board at a meeting on Tuesday (19 July).
Brighton and Hove City Council leader councillor Phélim Mac Cafferty said that there was a chance to “create a new pipeline” of projects across the region.
In addition to the Madeira Terraces, the funding bids to win regional support were a revamp of Burgess Hill Town Centre and a scheme to create a “cultural mile” in Worthing.
Councillor Mac Cafferty, the new chair of the Greater Brighton Economic Board, said that, by working together, the organisation’s member organisations could convince ministers to invest in the “sub-regional economy”.
The economic board includes representatives of seven councils, two universities, a college, two business partnerships and the South Downs National Park.
Councillor Mac Cafferty said: “Devolving powers and resources away from central government is a key theme in the ‘levelling up’ agenda.
“Greater Brighton partners have seized the opportunity to show leadership and a collaborative approach to tackling the key challenges facing the region. We’ve shown we can deliver, and we will continue to do so.
“The government sees transitioning to a low-carbon economy as a key driver in levelling up the country and the work we are doing on our own journey to net zero places us on the front foot.
“By working with Greater Brighton, the government can realise its ambitions and deliver on its promises. We will present the strongest case possible for investment in our region.”
He added that the government had identified the creative industries as having a significant role, putting Greater Brighton in a strong position.
A report before the board said that Greater Brighton, which includes Adur, Arun, Brighton and Hove, Crawley, Lewes, Mid Sussex and Worthing councils, was an area of low unemployment and home to a skilled workforce with high-value jobs.
But prosperity was not evenly distributed as there were pockets of deprivation, low skills and poor social mobility.
The new government white paper was aimed at devolving power from central government to local leaders across the country as part of the levelling up agenda.
Brighton and Hove City Council chief executive Geoff Raw said that government funding was “tight” but the board should develop new projects where public funding could unlock private investment.
The three levelling up bids in the Greater Brighton area are
- Brighton and Hove – £9.55 million for restoration of the eastern 865 metres of the Madeira Terraces, the Victorian Shelter Hall and the 200-year-old biodiverse green wall. The work will improve access to the area for the deprived communities on the Bristol Estate and Whitehawk while improving the “significant blight” of the derelict grade II* listed terrace.
- Mid Sussex – £18.5 million for Burgess Hill town centre regeneration with a development of 25,000 square metres of commercial floorspace, 172 homes and more than 4,100 square metres of “public realm improvements” in Church Walk.
- Worthing – £20 million for Worthing’s “Connected Cultural Mile” to transform Worthing Museum and Art Gallery into a cultural hub and to “re-establish” Worthing Lido to “secure its future and architectural integrity”.
