Levelling up grant scheme oversubscribed

A £1.5 million grant scheme set up to help the most deprived areas of Gloucestershire has been oversubscribed with more than 120 bids submitted for funding.

Gloucestershire County Council announced earlier this year that it was setting up the Levelling Up Together grant scheme to help the ten most disadvantaged wards in the county.

However, not all of those who have applied will be successful as all bids combined total more than £7 million.

Council leader Mark Hawthorne (C, Quedgeley) said: “We are delighted to have received 128 applications to the Levelling Up Together Grant Scheme totalling over £7 million.

He said: “This demonstrates what we already knew: our communities know what they need and they have the best ideas for their local area.

“We will now be working through the process, with all applications being scored against the same criteria. Applications that meet the threshold will then go forward to a decision-making panel. Of course, not all applicants will be successful, but we look forward to announcing the successful bids in the New Year.”

Councillor Jeremy Hilton (LD, Kingsholm an Wotton) represents one of the areas eligible to bid. And he said there has been “no shortage of applications” in his ward.

“It is much more than the £150,000 allocated to my division. I have had my first meeting with officers and Cllr Hawthorne to look at the proposals,” he said.

“Some are specific to my division and some are multi area applications. My priority is to support those projects that especially help Kingsholm residents who are most in need of additional support, by providing better life opportunities.”

The most deprived wards in the county were identified in a recent council report.

They are Podsmead, Tuffley, Barton and Tredworth, Matson and Robinswood, Moreland, Kingsholm and Wotton, Westgate, St Mark’s, St Paul’s and Cinderford.

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