Over May, June and July 2022, all residents and businesses of Longtown area were invited to contribute to the co-production of a Longtown Place Plan in a series of five community workshops and a stakeholder summit. These workshops asked residents on their opinions of Longtown and what they thought Longtown needed to improve.
The purpose of the Place Plan is to draw together a wide range of ideas that can be delivered and prospectively attract funding from future sources. The plan is supported by the availability of up to £3 million of Borderlands funding to be spent on capital projects that can help develop the local economy.
A community ran group called the Longtown Development Team has been set up to help promote, manage and deliver the Place Plan. Community volunteers are invited to join to help make this initiative successful. All who live or have an interest in Longtown may join. Please contact [email protected] to find out more.
The funding of capital projects comes from the £452 million Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal signed in March 2021. The growth deal was signed between the UK and Scottish governments and the five councils of the Borderlands Partnership made up of Carlisle City Council, Cumbria County Council, Dumfries and Galloway Council, Northumberland County Council and Scottish Borders Council.
As part of the Borderlands Growth Deal, funding has been allocated to the Place Programme with 21 places receiving up to £3 million each. The Place Programme recognises how important smaller rural market and coastal towns are to the Borderlands economy by revitalising these places. After a Place Plan has been endorsed, each place is invited to develop detailed designs and business cases in a Town Investment Plan.
A copy of the Longtown Place Plan can be found on our website.
The Longtown Place Plan is a live document and changes are still ongoing. Any comments on the plan can be sent to [email protected]
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal
The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal (the Deal) is an exciting opportunity for the north of England and south of Scotland attracting investment worth over £450m including £350m from the UK and Scottish Governments. This has the potential to be truly transformational for our area. Our Deal is the only cross-border growth deal in the UK covering Cumbria, Dumfries and Galloway, Northumberland and Scottish Borders. With an urban centre in the City of Carlisle and a large rural geography representing 10% of the UK landmass, the Deal is an innovative and unique approach to partnership working to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth.
The Deal Agreement states that the following are expected to be achieved over the 20-year benefits realisation period for the Deal, subject to full business cases:
- Deliver an additional 5,500 job opportunities.
- Attract more than four million extra tourists to the area.
- Improve mobile and digital connections.
- Unlock investment in towns across the area.
- Generate around £1.1 billion in GVA for the Borderland's economy.
Find out more: