Kirklees to receive £5.8 million UK Shared Prosperity Fund

Kirklees councillors have found out how much money the borough will get under new government funding designed the replace the millions that used to come from the EU.

Upon final government approval, Kirklees is set to receive £5.82 million of just over £68 million that has been allocated to the West Yorkshire Combined Authority.

UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) aims to support the Kirklees community and will see the money spent on projects including:

improving towns centres and high streets helping vulnerable people regeneration projects like the Huddersfield and Dewsbury Blueprints legacy projects after Kirklees Year of Music 2023

The UKSPF was announced earlier this year as part of the government’s ‘Levelling Up’ agenda to replace the European Structural and Investment Funds (ESIF).

However, the new initiative offers substantially less money than the previous ESIF, being worth around £400 million in its first year for the whole of the UK. This compares with an annual average of £1.5 billion when funding was provided by the European Union between 2014 and 2020.

Earlier this year West Yorkshire Mayor Tracy Brabin hit out at the proposed arrangement, explaining that her region would have received £105 million under the EU’s previous model.

The Mayor went on to say that the cut to funding was a decision that “yet again undermines levelling up.”

In contrast, Kirklees’ Coun Graham Turner, cabinet member for growth and regeneration said: “The UK Shared Prosperity Fund will ensure the continuation of many fantastic programmes of work which are currently benefiting Kirklees communities and businesses.

“We’re also excited about the new possibilities this funding brings for investment in local places, helping us towards our goal of making Kirklees a better place to live, work and visit.

“Voluntary and community organisations feature heavily in our plans for this funding.

“We’re already working closely with our key partners in this area, and this has helped develop our proposals.

“We’re also building on a wealth of learning from working with local communities in recent years – like our work with Community Anchor organisations during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We want to work with the people of Kirklees to identify key local issues, and find real solutions that work for everyone.”