£7.5M BOOST FOR TOWN CENTRE

MILLIONS TO BE PLOUGHED IN TO HELP ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT

Nuneaton is a key economic centre and is need of some investment to enable the town to reach its full potential. Nuneaton & Bedworth Borough Council

MILLIONS of pounds will be ploughed into improving part of Nuneaton town centre.

A fund of £7.5 million is being injected into the town in the hope of boosting investment in the whole area.

Both Warwickshire County Council and Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council made a bid for a slice of £42 million worth of funding - and now the amount they’ve been granted has been revealed.

The money comes from government funds given to the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP).

It is understood that the £7.5 million will be used to kick-start the improvements in the Vicarage Street area in the hope it will attract further investment so that the project can be completed in full. Both councils are still keeping tightlipped about the finer details of the programme. A spokesman for Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council, said: “It’s wonderful that the Transforming Nuneaton programme has received such substantial investment. Nuneaton is a key economic centre in the region and in need of some investment to enable the town to reach its full potential.” The two councils put in a joint bid to the LEP for money to go to a programme called ‘Transforming Nuneaton’ to help galvanise the ‘eastern quarter’ of the town.. Details of what exactly the money will be spent on have not yet been revealed but it is understood that, contained within the ‘eastern quarter’ of town are the long-standing plans to redevelop the Vicarage Street area, the bus station and the railway station ‘gateway’. According to a ‘Transforming Nuneaton Town Centre’ document on the LEP website, it notes that a bid was made for £14million but the overall cost of the scheme would total almost £80million.

It suggests work to the ‘infrastructure and public realm’, citing the ‘eastern quarter’ of town and delivering key infrastructure improvements to the A444 encompassing the creation of a new roundabout on the ring road. It also mentions ‘acquisition of land’ in order to unlock and create prime commercial and housing development sites but, again, does not say where.

A Warwickshire County Council spokesperson, said: “Warwickshire County Council have been provisionally allocated funding of up to £7.5m (subject to due diligence and contracting) through the Local Growth Fund to support the ongoing plans to help the regeneration of Nuneaton town centre.

“It is intended that this funding would be used to help enable future development, improve transport connectivity, and undertake public realm and environmental improvement works.”

The LEP has been contacted for a comment but, at the time of publication, no one was available.