Communities & Place
Invested £24.7m in Communities & Place
Invested £24.7m in Communities & Place
As the Lead Authority for UKSPF in Tees Valley, Tees Valley Combined Authority allocated £24.7m for investment in Communities and Place from the wider £46.3m UK government’s Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) package awarded to the region between 2022 and 2025.
Read on to find out more about our approach and the impact on the area.
A strategic and evidenced based approach to prioritisation and activity was taken to inform where we should we target our investment.
The UKSPF Evidence Base sets out the challenges and opportunities that informed the prioritisation of funding under the three UKSPF investment priorities, including Communities & Place.
Tees Valley Combined Authority has a 10-year Investment Plan, developed with partners and agreed by Cabinet in 2019. To ensure a fully integrated approach, UKSPF priority setting took place in the context of this longer-term Investment Plan, which included income assumptions from UKSPF to deliver wider place-based ambitions to transform the Tees Valley economy.
The UKSPF Investment Plan for Communities & Place was built on the recent progress and successes, including a £20m Growth Programme for Creative and Visitor Economies; a £160m for a number of strategic place-based projects across the Tees Valley; and a £1m covid recovery programme for Cultural Industries and the Visitor Economy.
Tees Valley has a strong and distinctive sense of place – it reflects our industrial heritage and there is a significant opportunity to position Tees Valley as an attractive location that delivers a high quality of life.
Funding was targeted where it would have the biggest impact in the 3-year delivery period. Our approach was to invest where there were gaps in activity alongside enhancing, adding value and complementing other funding sources, but where it would not duplicate or displace existing provision.
Overview: An innovative programme which has been the first of its kind in the UK, the Tees Valley Artists of the Year programme debuted in 2024 and saw five talented artists receive a package of £30,000, and tailored wrap-around support to give them the space to take their careers to the next level, and focus their attention on their art and passions. It has continued with a fresh cohort of five artists now unveiled who will receive support through 2025/26.
The programme has:
Examples include:
Overview: The Challenge fund provides financial investment in up to four festivals / events of around £100,000 to enable activity to be delivered over a maximum period of two years (1st April 2024 – 31st March 2026). It is aimed at festivals / events that have a lifespan beyond TVCA investment – with the idea being TVCA investment acts as a catalyst for the longer-term sustainability of the festival.
The programme has:
Examples include:
Overview: Led by Teesside University, the digital inclusion project, named DIG-IT (Digital Inclusion – Growing in IT), aims to increase digital inclusion across the Tees Valley, working with delivery partners, The Hope Foundation and Good Things Foundation, to develop and test the feasibility of solutions and services which will enable those most excluded from digital access to fully participate in today’s digital society.
The programme has:
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