Town deal

What is the Town Fund?

The Town Fund is a new funding scheme launched by the government for towns like Hastings to improve their economy. More information about the scheme can be found in the Town Fund Prospectus.

The government invited 101 towns to develop proposals for a Town Deal, as part of the £3.6 billion Fund. Hastings is one of the towns across the country eligible to bid for up to £25m from the Town Fund with the opportunity to bid for more money from other national funding streams. The Town Deal will cover the whole of the Hastings borough.

We have also been awarded £173,029 from the government to support the development of the Town Deal, its Investment Plan and business case development for specific projects. Through this process we will have to say which projects will be identified, what funding is required; and how these projects fit with the wider, longer term plan for our continued regeneration.

We need to bring forward firm proposals developed in close working relationship with our community, partners, private and public investors, and produce a Town Deal Investment plan document, which will need to be approved by the government before we can start on bringing the proposals to life.

If we secure the funding it will deliver jobs, homes, skills and action to reduce our carbon emissions. It must include activities which ensure all our residents directly benefit from the proposed investment.

COVID-19 meant the programme was put on hold, however the government has now released its detailed guidance, so ourselves and the Town Deal board can now work with the community to develop our Investment Plan for submission later in this financial year.

What is the Hastings Town Deal?

The Town Deal is the agreement signed by government and the council, as lead organisation for the project. The Town Deal is signed after we have developed and submitted our Town Investment Plan by 31 January 2021 and it has been approved by government.

COVID-19 meant that the timescales for the Town Deal were changed by government in June 2020 to allow towns more time to develop their investment plan and consider how Covid-19 is impacting the economy.

The Town Deal process will allow Hastings to access up to £25m of Town fund funding. There will also be the opportunity to secure additional funding which may come from other sources or branches of government and private investment, to support the implementation of a Town Deal. It offers an opportunity for Hastings to address many of the remaining social and economic challenges in the town as a whole and create a more resilient and secure future. 

How will we develop the plans for the deal?

The council has established a 'Town Deal Board' in accordance with the guidance detailed in the Town Fund prospectus. It includes local businesses, , community representatives, council officers and other partners committed to improving the town. The Board will oversee the development of the Town Investment Plan together with the council as lead partner.

What is the objective?

The Town Investment Plan will represent our future vision and ambition for Hastings, and will help us towards taking steps to achieve many of our objectives. It will be our prospectus for the future, showing both public and private funders and investors that we are open for business.

The objective will be to use the funding to provide jobs, homes, skills and take actions to reduce our carbon emissions, benefitting residents across the whole town.

You can find out more about the Town Deal on the government's website.

Next Steps

• Run regular Town Deal Board meetings and use it as the vehicle through which the vision and strategy for the Town Investment Plan is defined
• To produce and submit an evidence-based Town Investment Plan by 31 January 2021 and submit it to government for approval.
• To engage with the community and stakeholders to help define the vision and strategy for the investment plan, setting out what the challenges are for the town and what projects will address those.