Recommendation 149

Beyond the sheer number of programmes, many local authorities said they needed to continue to bid for multiple funding pots because the application deadlines for one funding scheme closed before they had heard the outcome of an earlier one. For example, the deadline for submitting bids for Levelling Up Fund Round 1 was before the local authorities knew if their bids for the Town Deals programme were successful. 296 Furthermore, being successful in securing funding could be contingent on also being successful in a separate bid. Mr Melia said: “Sometimes if you get funding from one pot, you have to go to another pot to try to get match funding to help the project get across the line. Just give us a single pot of money.” 297 The complexities of the funding system have been demonstrated in Sunderland, as we heard from Mr Melia (see Box 7). Box 7: Sunderland funding In the centre of Sunderland several closures of high-profile retailers took place, including the Debenhams department store and Arcadia shops in the Bridges Shopping Centre in 2021. The vacancy rate rose to 23 per cent in 2022, putting Sunderland in a vulnerable position. Sunderland City Council has bid for various central Government funding schemes for regenerating its high streets. Mr Melia told the committee that navigating the numerous funding programmes “is really time consuming. Practically, on the ground for us, it creates bureaucracy, it slows the pace of investment, and makes it harder to secure private sector investment because of the complexity and bureaucracy of dealing with various government departments and various funding streams. ” 298 Below is a list of the central Government funding programmes from which Sunderland has received support. £25 million from the Future High Street Fund, to be used for five projects within the Riverside Sunderland new urban quarter in the city centre, spanning both sides of the River Wear. £20 million from Levelling Up Funding Round 1, to be used for housing-led redevelopment to increase city-centre living. £14.9 million of core funding from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, of which £5.9 million is dedicated to supporting local businesses and £4.2 million to investment in communities and place. Sources: Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, ‘Future High Streets Fund: successful and unsuccessful applications’ (3 December 2021): https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/future- high-streets-fund-successful-and-unsuccessful-bids/future-high-streets- fund-successful-and-unsuccessful-applications ; Sunderland City Council, Riverside Sunderland: Masterplan (October 2020): https://www.riversidesunderland.com/sites/default/files/ 2020–10/sunderland_masterplan_relaunch_RevU_spreads.pdf ; Sunderland City Council, ‘Cabinet meeting—11 January 2022: Executive summary sheet—part I’: capital programme 98/99 (sunderland.gov.uk) [accessed 12 September 2024]; Sunderland City Council, ‘UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) in Sunderland’: https://www.sunderland.gov.uk/UKSPF [accessed 12 September 2024]