Whalley, Clitheroe and Longridge town centres could benefit from a total of £82,000 in funding for post-pandemic business recovery and tourism promotional activities, under proposals being considered by Ribble Valley Borough Council.

Funding for projects to help town centres recover after the various lockdowns, bring back visitors and develop high streets for the future will be considered at Ribble Valley’s full council meeting on Tuesday night.

The borough council has recently received a £53,000 grant from the Government’s Welcome Back Fund, which is designed to promote trade and tourism. Ribble Valley’s share is part of a total £56 million allocated to local councils across the UK by the Government, using cash from the EU’s European Regional Development Fund.

The latest fund builds upon a previous national funding scheme launched in Spring 2020, called Reopening High Streets Safely. That aimed to rebuild town centres after the early national lockdowns last year.

Ribble Valley Borough Council received a £53,000 payment from the first  2020 programme but some of the money remains unspent. So the remainder will be added to the new allocation, making a total of £82,000 potentially available to local towns.

Suitable projects for support could include temporary visual enhancements to high streets and public spaces, such as bunting, funding for public seating, toilet and green spaces, events and stewards, or regeneration strategies and new research into high street needs. Funding is not available directly for individual businesses.

Meanwhile, in another town centre regeneration bid, Ribble Valley Borough Council is aiming to boost Longridge using Government cash from the Government’s new national Levelling Up Fund.  This is designed for infrastructure, local transport, culture and heritage projects across the UK.

Council officers have been working with north-west architects firm Buttress Architects on a submission to the Government. A council emergency committee meeting was held in June, where some of the Levelling Up Fund bid details were discussed in private under ‘exempt’ arrangements. Exemptions allow local authorities and other parties, such as businesses, to discuss potentially-sensitive items in private, such as contractual negotiations or commercial details. A tight Government deadline for Levelling Up bids also required a quick response, according to  the agenda for the full council meeting on Tuesday night.

The council meeting with social distancing precautions will take place at the alternative venue of St Mary’s Church Hall on Church Street, Clitheroe, starting at 6.30pm.