Ferries, harbours and heritage could be the main spends for the £20m pledged to Orkney in the Budget.
This will be the first time the islands have received Levelling Up money since the funding stream was set up.
So, what will the cash be spent on?
Levelling up funding was set up to support infrastructure and transport projects across the UK.
Looking at some of the major issues affecting Orkney – and the local council’s previous ambitions for potential Levelling Up funding – improvement to the internal ferry fleet stands out as the obvious candidate.
However, following yesterday’s announcement of the £20million, the immediate answer from the council on how the money will be used is “It’s too soon to say.”
The local authority says no definite projects have been identified.
It is awaiting further details of the parameters of the fund from the UK Government.
However, the council says communities will have a “significant role to play” in finding worthy projects.
One thing the council has been clear on is that they will aim to spread the money throughout Orkney.
It won’t just be for Kirkwall projects.
The government announcements about the funding specified that it was going to Kirkwall, as the money is coming via the ‘Long-Term Plan for Towns’ funding stream.
But the islands’ council has since clarified that the money is “for Orkney in general”.
A council spokeswoman said the statement from the secretary of state for Levelling Up, housing, and communities, Michael Gove, made it clear that they’d have the ability to spread the money “across a wider area”.
What projects did Orkney Islands Council put forward for Levelling Up funding in the past?
There have been two competitive rounds of Levelling Up in the past.
Orkney Islands Council didn’t apply to the first but it did hand in an application for the second.
Two years ago, the council’s policy and resources agreed to put forward proposals for upgrading harbour infrastructure at Papa Westray, North Ronaldsay and Graemsay, to accommodate the existing ro-ro fleet.
This project was thought to cost £70million and the council sought £50million of Levelling Up money for it.
The committee also agreed that, when round 3 of Levelling Up came around, a bid for a fixed link between two of the North Isles or a replacement of one of the existing ferries should be prepared, with a preference for a low carbon-fuelled vessel.
Another project that the committee had considered putting forward for round 2 but left for round 3, was a £31.7million “Cultural Nexus.”
This would have included a “museum of the isles”, a laboratory, and a place for the county’s historic collections.
Councillor at that time Steve Sankey also pushed for levelling up money to go to “upgrading” the second Churchill Barrier.
Not all councillors were in favour of the money being used for the barriers, but they decided to make sure the council wasn’t stuck with a fixed menu of projects for Levelling Up round 3, leaving the potential for any worthy projects, including something for the barriers.
While there was indeed a third round, it didn’t call for new applications.
Instead, the money went out to applications handed in for the second round that missed out.
And Orkney still got nothing.
What is ‘Levelling Up’ funding?
Levelling Up funding was first mentioned back in 2019.
The idea has been to address economic imbalances by dishing out grants for infrastructure and transportation projects across the UK.
It’s worth remembering that Orkney’s £20m windfall isn’t coming through one of the normal “rounds.”
As mentioned, it’s coming through the ‘Long-Term Plan for Towns’ funding stream.
Kirkwall and 20 other towns will now be added to a list of 55 British towns from the first wave of the programme.
Guidance published last December states that ‘Long-Term Plans for Towns’ is for “towns that have been overlooked for too long”.
Each town announced in that first wave was asked to set up a “town board”.
This board would come up with plans that would meet the priorities of their communities and change their long-term future.
This board would include an independent chair, a senior member of the police, and the local MP.
The other members of the board would be “respected local figures with an obvious passion for their area.”
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