Responding to the Chancellor’s announcement of a £4 billion Levelling Up Fund, Director of the UPP Foundation, Richard Brabner said:
We welcome the Levelling Up Fund announced by the Chancellor today.
This fund draws on recommendations the UPP Foundation made around supporting the economic renewal of post-industrial towns – utilising the capacity of civic institutions to support the regeneration of high streets. We are pleased to see community infrastructure, and local arts and culture as areas this fund will support.
When the Government fleshes out the prospectus for this fund it should focus on what local communities want from regeneration, and incentivise local and regional civic institutions, such as universities, colleges and museums to help to deliver on its objectives. This requires capital funding, but also a sustainable model for these institutions to deliver activities in these communities.”
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Notes to editors
- On 2 November the UPP Foundation published its report ‘Extending civic engagement to post-industrial towns: Universities’ role in levelling up and building back better’ – its key recommendation was for a major programme of community development in local town centres. Universities and other civic institutions would be able to bid in partnership with local government for this funding for new capital, on the condition that these are placed in town centres and civic institutions situate some of their activity there as an anchor tenant. The levelling up report followed on from the UPP Foundation’s Civic University Commission.
- This year, the UPP Foundation, Department for Education, Carnegie Trust UK and Arts Council England established the Civic University Network. Hosted at Sheffield Hallam University, this body supports best practice across the higher education sector.
- The UPP Foundation is a registered charity that offers grants to universities, charities and other higher education bodies to tackle the biggest issues in the higher education sector. The UPP Foundation was created in 2016 by University Partnerships Programme (UPP), the UK’s leading provider of on-campus residential and academic accommodation infrastructure.
