October 28, 2021 4.57 pm This story is over 29 months old

How £10m from Chancellor’s budget will help create “thriving Gainsborough”

A new cinema and a bus station refurb
Thanks to £10 million of government funding, there will be a series of development projects aiming to create a "thriving Gainsborough 2024". | Photo: West Lindsey District Council
By Local Democracy Reporter

West Lindsey District Council will get £10 million from the government as part of Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s Autumn budget to help regenerate Gainsborough.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak outlined his Autumn budget on Wednesday, which had nearly £30 million of levelling up funding dedicated to Lincolnshire.

£19.6 million was awarded to Lincolnshire County Council for improvement works on the A16 corridor between Spalding and Boston, while £10.3 million of the total £4.8 billion government fund will go towards improvements in Gainsborough.

Designs for the new cinema in the old Lindsey Centre in Gainsborough. | Image: WLDC

West Lindsey District Council hopes that with this funding, which will be spent by 2024, can help projects including

  • A new four-screen Savoy cinema, redeveloping the old Lindsey Centre site, three commercial units and a car park.
  • Improving Whitton’s Gardens, creating a new park at the Baltic Mill
  • Refurbishing the bus station
  • Creating new homes in the town centre above shops
  • Improving the Market Place as the centre piece of town where people can enjoy outdoor dining, visit our traditional twice weekly street market and meet with friends and family.

The successful funding bid was treated with a wholly positive reaction from councillors, including leader of WLDC Owen Bierley, who said: “We are aware of how competitive this funding was, and how many local authorities had submitted proposals, so needless to say we are absolutely delighted that we have been awarded the full allocation of our bid.

“This amount of money can have a real benefit to our community, and I want to thank all the officers involved for putting together and submitting such a robust, strong plan.”

Gainsborough MP Edward Leigh.

Sir Edward Leigh MP – who supported the bid and personally spoke to ministers to assist with the bid – added: “This project will have an incredible impact on Gainsborough, offering a chance for the town to get investment that will really make people sit up and take notice.

“This town deserves it, and I am absolutely delighted and cannot wait to see the work taking place.”