Stevenage Borough Council in partnership with Hertfordshire County Council and Hertfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership has today secured funding of £3.26m from central government from the Community Renewal Fund. Stevenage Borough Council put forward 1 of the 5 bids – the Community Wealth Building Together bid, which was successful and contributed to the countywide pot of money to be received next year.

Successful bids included:

• Community Wealth Building Together £715,673
• Building Back Better: SME business support in Hertfordshire £612,993
• Driving creative and culture-led regeneration through the film industry £844,795
• Hertfordshire Opportunity Generator £524,233
• STEM City £565,175

This funding will allow Stevenage, along with the rest of the county, to benefit from strengthening its economy and broaden the work already being done giving businesses and people the best opportunities to fulfil their potential.

Councillor Sharon Taylor, leader of Stevenage Borough Council said: “We are delighted to work together with our local partners to secure a slice of the £3.26m Community Renewal funds, with money allocated to Hertfordshire and for Stevenage. It is vital that recovery from the pandemic is sustainable and brings investment for local people and into the local economy.

“We are delighted to have driven a bid with other districts to secure £700k to help hundreds of people who are out of work develop their skills and be met with a choice of local job opportunities. The funding also recognises our own ‘STEM city’ in Stevenage, creating jobs and opportunity for local people to forge a career in a wide range of cutting edge businesses.”

The £3.26m funding will deliver a range of measures to support people and communities most in need, by piloting programmes and new approaches, to driving innovation and productivity - creating employment opportunities within key sectors such as the STEM sector (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) heavily present in Stevenage.

The £220 million UK Community Renewal Fund will provide funding to help places across the UK prepare for the introduction of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund - investing in people, places, businesses and communities.

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