Regional authorities secure OPE funding
The sixth phase of the One Public Estate project has seen four North West areas tap into a total funding round of £8.7m.
One Public Estate is run jointly by the Local Government Association and the Cabinet Office and provides money to support local authorities and partnerships across England in unlocking development by rationalising public sector land and buildings.
The programme was launched in 2013 with 12 areas, but with the latest batch of joiners, it is now supporting 312 local authorities, 90% of the country’s councils.
Phase six, the latest funding window to cover 2017-2018, was launched on 1 August, along with an additional funding pot from the Department for Communities & Local Government called the Land Release Fund, £45m for remediation and infrastructure projects.
In all, 56 allocations have been committed from One Public Estate phase six. These include:
- The Cumbrian Partnership: £60,000
- Greater Manchester Combined Authority: £386,000
- Lancashire Combined Authority: £50,000
- Liverpool City Region: £185,000
The Local Government Association and Cabinet Office said that by 2019-2020, the One Public Estate programme is targeted with the creation of 44,000 jobs, releasing land for 25,000 homes, raising £615m in capital receipts through land and property sales, and cut running costs in the public estate by £158m.
