PLANS TO use almost £17 million of Levelling Up funding for Denton have moved a step forward.
And Tameside Council expects to be given two more years to spend the money as it believes the government’s forthcoming spending review will set a new deadline of March 2028.
The Correspondent told how the authority put forward a scheme that would see £2 million going towards improvements to Festival Hall to enable relocation of further council services and creation of a ‘neighbourhood hub.’
A further £1 million would go towards improving Denton Town Hall so it can be used more in future.
After securing £16,764,793 – meaning those projects, plus significant improvements to the public realm around the town centre and Victoria Park, can go ahead as part of the Destination Denton package – work has been ongoing to kickstart the projects.
Now Identity Consult has been appointed as project managers and Planit given the job of preparing the masterplan and public realm strategy.
Executive decision notices state the former will receive a maximum of £172,000 and the latter £115,000.
They also revealed the expected extension, adding: “The council signed a Memorandum of Understanding in April 2025 with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to draw down capital funding of £4,546,000 in 2025/26 from the total Capital allocation of £16,765,000 for Denton.
“The balance of £12.219,000 funding remains subject to Government confirmation which is expected following the UK Spending Review.
“This is expected to extend the deadline for spend against the grant to March 2028.”
And because the award was made by the former Conservative government, money must be spent on delivering what Tameside Council said it would.
Documents continue: “Due to the scheme being delivered from a defined level of grant funding it is essential that costs are managed appropriately to ensure the scheme remains within budget and that all spend is compliant with the conditions of the grant.
“The project team will need to closely monitor costs as the project progresses, revising the project specification where required, in order to mitigate any potential cost fluctuations.
“The council has now commenced the first stages of work to deliver the Denton town centre regeneration programme.
“The interventions are focused on public realm and active travel improvements to further strengthen the links across the town centre.
“Further capital investment is also sought at the Festival Hall site and Denton Town Hall to make best use of the council’s estate.
“This will help the town centre to reach its full potential and deliver further comprehensive regeneration, attracting additional footfall and investment.
“The Denton Masterplan and Public Realm Strategy is now required to provide a clear strategic approach for public realm and active travel improvements and wider regeneration of the town centre.
“This will enable delivery of the first phase of public realm improvements using the secured funding for 2025/26 and inform the delivery of works in future years, subject to funding confirmation.
“The cost for undertaking this masterplanning and public realm strategy work is included within the overall public realm works package for Denton and is fully resourced via external Levelling Up Fund grant funding.
“Contract milestones are agreed in advance of contract commencement as part of the project programme with the Masterplan and Public Realm Strategy scheduled to be completed by August 2026.”