Plans to regenerate railway stations in 20 towns

RAILWAY stations in 20 towns and cities are to get “Kings Cross-style” makeovers under levelling-up plans.

Sheffield and Wolverhampton will be the first, in regeneration plans announced by Michael Gove as part of the long-anticipated Levelling Up White Paper, to be published this week.

The 20 areas will be prioritised in the £1.5 billion Brownfield Fund, which provides loans to housebuilders to deliver 42,000 homes. The West Midlands and South Yorkshire will also be given £41million to fund local projects.

Mr Gove, the Levelling Up Secretary, said: “We are on a mission to regenerate the nation, transforming derelict areas into thriving places people are proud to live and work in.

“We are refocusing Homes England and empowering local leaders to support levelling up, delivering Kings Cross-style transformational regeneration projects across the country.

“This huge investment in infrastructure and regeneration will spread opportunity more evenly and help to reverse the geographical inequalities which still exist in the UK.”

However, last night, Mr Gove came under fire from Lisa Nandy, his Labour opposite number, as it emerged that the “Levelling Up Taskforce” is entirely based in London. It will be headed by the former Bank of England chief economist Andy Haldane. The taskforce, according to the Levelling Up Department, “comprises 30 officials based in London offices and home addresses across the country”. It comes after recent revelations showed that twothirds of officials working on the policy project were also based in the capital.

Ms Nandy said: “Much like Levelling Up as a whole, the Government’s claims they would move decision-making across the country is clearly nothing but hot air. Those in Whitehall have been picking winners and losers from our nations and regions for far too long, and people and communities across the country have suffered as a result.”