Government announces £20m of new Levelling Up funding for Blackburn with Darwen

Blackburn with Darwen Council has successfully secured £20m of new Levelling Up funding from Government – taking the grand total to more than £125m.

The announcement comes after months of hard work between Council and Government officials, who have together developed a strong investment package to support town centre growth priorities.

At the heart of the bid is an impressive £8m to renovate the ever-popular King George’s Hall – the jewel in the crown of Blackburn’s new £50m Cultural Quarter.

There’ll also be new investment for the likes of Tony’s Ballroom, The Exchange and Imperial Mill.

Creating new jobs and supporting businesses is high on the agenda too with money secured for Blackburn College to deliver new cyber and digital skills opportunities, a pioneering AMRC development in Darwen, and a cash injection to support the re-purposing of local business support networks.

Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Riley, said: ‘’The good news for Blackburn with Darwen just keeps on coming!

‘’After a tremendous amount of work in developing a really strong investment package for our borough, the Government has today announced £20m of new Levelling Up Funding for us which is just brilliant.

‘’This comes on the back of the Council being named a Government Levelling Up Partner in the Budget last year and tops up the £40m we secured in 2023.

‘’Added to that, we have the Darwen Town Deal, the money we secured through the Youth Investment Fund, the UKSPF and more recently the chance to secure a further £20m for Darwen, as part of the Long Term Plan for Towns initiative, with more to come on completion of our Devo Deal with Government too.

Councillor Riley added: ‘’We have a proud and proven track record of delivering here in Blackburn with Darwen and the amount of funding we are securing is testament to that.

‘’The Government has real confidence in us as a Council and in our ability to make sure every single penny counts.

‘’They know we’ll spend the money wisely and on projects that will make a real difference, projects that are important to our residents and to our businesses.

Indeed, town centres are hugely important, and this latest investment package has a strategic focus on culture – something that is helping to transform our offers with great success.’’

‘’We are unashamedly pro-growth here in Blackburn with Darwen.

‘’That’s because we want every single resident, no matter who they are, to achieve a good quality of life – as our Corporate Plan says, we’re on a mission to create a more prosperous borough where no-one is left behind.’’

This week, Chief Executive of Blackburn with Darwen Council, Denise Park, was also invited by Government to the Netherlands to present on the success of the Levelling Up Partnership to their Government officials there.

More details about how the funding will be spent will be announced once the details are finalised with Government.