Worksop awarded £18m in Levelling-Up cash to transform and rejuvenate the town centre

In an announcement made under embargo from the Department for Levelling-Up last night, the cash will be spent of building a new leisure facility with ten pin bowling and soft play in the town, and a new towpath link along the Chesterfield Canal.

Other projects on Nottinghamshire include:

£20 million will transform the disused Mansfield department store Beales into office space and a civic hub; In Sutton-In-Ashfield, £3.1 million will help transform a Victorian underground reservoir into a science discovery centre and state-of-the-art planetarium; £16.5 million to make town centre improvements in Kimberley, including transforming the Bennerley Viaduct, creating step-free access to the viaduct and boosting the cycle path network in the region.

In nearby East Lindsay, £8 million will save three of the Lincolnshire Wolds’ most at-risk heritage and cultural sites. This includes Alford Manor House, a Grade

II listed building which will be brought back to life as part of a community visitor complex and Alford’s only remaining windmill, which will be brought back into commercial use as part of a community complex.

In total across the East Midlands, 11 projects received grants from round two of Levelling Up Fund totalling £176m.

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said:  “We are firing the starting gun on more than a hundred transformational projects in every corner of the UK that will revitalise communities that have historically been overlooked but are bursting with potential. 

“This new funding will create jobs, drive economic growth, and help to restore local pride. We are delivering on the people’s priorities, levelling up across the UK to ensure that no matter where you are from, you can go as far as your talents will take you.”

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak added: “Through greater investment in local areas, we can grow the economy, create good jobs and spread opportunity everywhere.

“That’s why we are backing a number of projects with new transformational funding to level up local communities in the East Midlands.

“By reaching even more parts of the country than before, we will build a future of optimism and pride in people’s lives and the places they call home.”