What is the levelling up together grant scheme?

By working with communities across the county we will:

• narrow inequalities;
• regenerate high streets, market towns and neighbourhoods;
• improve infrastructure, jobs, skills, and education provision; and
• help residents to achieve their ambitions for the places they live.

To begin this work, the Levelling Up our Communities conference took place on 19 May 2022. At the end of the conference, the Leader of the Council, Mark Hawthorne, announced that £1.5 million would be made available for the purpose of levelling up.   

Cabinet agreed that these funds would be used to create a flexible community grants scheme. This scheme will target the 12 areas of Gloucestershire that fall into the 10% ‘most deprived’ in England according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD, 2019), and involve the engagement of the County Councillors.

Eligible organisations were able to apply for up to £150,000.

The purpose of Levelling Up Together

The purpose of the fund is to invest in projects and activities that contribute to communities and places that feel they have been left behind.

We will work alongside knowledge, strength and power in our communities, be even more flexible and responsive in our approaches and welcome innovative and radical ways of working.

View the cabinet decision paper for the Levelling Up Together scheme.

Applications needed to demonstrate...

how the funding will contribute to the council’s goal to level up and associated missions, which are:

• By 2030, the gap in Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) between local areas where it is highest and lowest will have narrowed, and by 2035 HLE will rise by five years
• By 2030, well-being will have improved in every area of the UK, with the gap between top performing and other areas closing
• By 2030, the number of primary school children achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and maths will have significantly increased. In England, this will mean 90% of children will achieve the expected standard, and the percentage of children meeting the expected standard in the worst performing areas will have increased by over a third
• By 2030, the number of people successfully completing high-quality skills training will have significantly increased in every area of the UK. In England, this will lead to 200,000 more people successfully completing high-quality skills training annually, driven by 80,000 more people completing courses in the lowest skilled areas
• By 2030, pride in place, such as people’s satisfaction with their town centre and engagement in local culture and community, will have risen in every area of the UK, with the gap between top performing and other areas closing

Levelling up together video for Gloucestershire