Loughborough Town Deal

Loughborough was chosen in 2019 to bid for Town Deal funding from the Government's Towns Fund.

The Loughborough Town Deal Board was soon formed. It involves a range of organisations, including Charnwood Borough Council, Loughborough University, Loughborough College, Love Loughborough, Leicestershire County Council, the Leicester and Leicestershire Enterprise Partnership, Charnwood Together Economy and Skills Group, local businesses and Loughborough MP Jane Hunt.

The Board is chaired by Cllr Jonathan Morgan, Leader of Charnwood Borough Council, and Dr Nik Kotecha OBE, chairman of Morningside Pharmaceuticals.

Following extensive research and consultation, the Board submitted to Government its Town Deal Investment plan which includes a range of projects. The plan aims to create a "Loughborough for All" and make the town a better-connected place where people will want to live, learn, work, and grow.

In June 2021, Government confirmed that Loughborough had successfully secured an offer of £16.9 million.

The deal represents one of the biggest single public sector investments in the town and its communities for many years. With funding from other sources, the Loughborough Town Deal will bring in tens of millions of pounds of investment to the town.

In August 2021, the below projects were supported by the Board to progress to the next stage and the completion of businesses cases. The projects are:

• Loughborough College Digital Skills Hub
• Living Loughborough Project
• Healthy and Innovative Loughborough
• Loughborough Wood Brook Flood Risk Management Scheme
• The Bedford Square Gateway Project
• The Generator - Creative Industries and Community Arts Hub
• John Taylor's Bell Foundry: Saving the last major bell foundry in Britain
• Loughborough Riverside Regeneration
• Careers and Enterprise Hub
• Great Central Railway - A new Heritage Locomotive Works, Education Centre & Museum for Loughborough

The Board also agreed to fund a revised Lanes and Links project to focus on the proposed creation of the Hope Bell in Queen’s Park. The bell would be cast by Loughborough’s John Taylor’s Bell Foundry and commemorate the impact Covid-19 has had on the borough and be a symbol of hope for the future.

The projects were selected following a prioritisation exercise which considered several factors including robustness of the business case, match funding, readiness to go, deliverability and impact on the town.

Three other projects have been put on a reserve list. They are: Connected Loughborough – East-West smart sustainable transport corridor; Loughborough Developer Accelerator; Parish Green Environmental Improvements.

To find out more, including information on the minutes, agendas and reports from the Town Deal Board meetings, visit the Loughborough Town Deal website.