SYSTRA’s £20m Levelling Up Fund Success

SYSTRA’s Business Case & Appraisal Team, alongside Cushman & Wakefield, supported Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in developing its latest Levelling Up Fund bid submission, which has now been awarded £20m in funding as part of the latest round of major Government investment in local communities across the UK.

The Levelling Up Fund forms an integral part of the UK Government’s efforts to improve local infrastructure and cultural/heritage assets, underpinned by £2.1bn of second round funding for schemes across the UK. To secure funding, local authorities were required to submit bids outlining improvements that would support levelling up priorities within their communities, according to criteria set out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

SYSTRA assisted several local authorities in the production of bold and ambitious bids for schemes which would help to improve local accessibility and public realm, increase the attractiveness of sustainable travel, and better link key destinations within local communities via sustainable modes.
In the case of Redcar & Cleveland, SYSTRA worked with Cushman & Wakefield on the local Council’s bid to create a strategic cycle route linking South Bank with Guisborough via Nunthorpe, as well as a High Street and Beckside walkway regeneration scheme in Guisborough town centre, by way of economic appraisal and design support/auditing.

I am proud that our team of business case experts has been able to support Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in preparing and submitting its successful Levelling Up Fund bid, which has now achieved a funding award of £20m and which builds on our previous successes in the first round of funding allocations. SYSTRA’s business case and appraisal team bring together a wealth of knowledge and experience gained from years of working closely with local authorities, and I’m particularly delighted that we’ve been able to help Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council successfully secure key funding towards an ambitious local scheme.

Amy Sykes, Sector Director, SYSTRA Ltd

With a third round of submissions to the Levelling Up Fund likely still to come and around £1bn worth of funding left to be distributed, SYSTRA are now looking forward to supporting clients in refining and resubmitting any bids which were unsuccessful this time around (over 400 bids lost out in this round of funding), as well as supporting Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council in achieving their proposed vision.