Since becoming Mansfield's MP I've been banging on the doors of Ministers in Whitehall to get more of the government's Levelling Up funding to our part of the world. I'm proud to say we've seen massive levels of funding announced in recent years for our town.
In December 2022 it was announced that the old Beales building at Stockwell Gate is to benefit from £20 million of transformational levelling up funding turning the building into a civic hub. The now derelict building will be a hub for things like education, skills, health and leisure, as well as public services, and drawing an extra 1000 people a day in to town to support shops and businesses.
The government's £12 million 'Towns Fund' investment will deliver improvements to town centre parking and a new leisure facility in Warsop.
All in, the total amount of 'levelling up' investment from Government so far totals over £50 million for Mansfield with our town entering into a 'Levelling up Partnership' with Government in 2023.
We've had millions in private investment too... £20 million of funding is helping to revive our high street and fill many of our vacant premises, with new shops and restaurants opening in the near future.
We also have Severn Trent's £76 million investment helping to regenerate our town centre begin in the last year. Spades went into the ground at the end of 2022 with thousands of new 'rain gardens' being built across the town that will act as flood alleviation for thousands of homes, as well as improving our street scene.
I'm continuing to urge the government to hurry up and deliver the Levelling Up Bill so we can create our East Midlands combined authority too, which comes with several billion of extra investment and new powers to do more for our area. This could be a real game changer for local transport, economic growth, housing and more bringing untold benefits to places like Mansfield town centre.
