Seven Scottish towns have been named by the Prime Minister as part of £1.1 billion levelling up investment being provided across the UK. 

Clydebank, Coatbridge, Dumfries, Elgin, Irvine, Greenock and Kilmarnock will each receive £20 million from the UK Government as part of a long-term investment plan for 55 struggling towns.

The money will be provided directly by the UK Government to the each local authority and local people will be given the tools to change their town’s long-term future. They will:   

• Receive a ten-year endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.    
• Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers and local authorities to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.     

Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities.  

“The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse.

“Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”

Levelling Up Secretary, Michael Gove said:  “We know that in our towns the values of hard work and solidarity, common sense and common purpose, endeavour and quiet patriotism have endured across generations. But for too long, too many of our great British towns have been overlooked and undervalued.

“We are putting this right through our Long-Term Plan for Towns backed by over £1bn of levelling up funding. This will empower communities in every part of the UK to take back control of their future, taking long term decisions in the interests of local people. It will mean more jobs, more opportunities and a brighter future for our towns and the people who live and work in them.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said: “I wholeheartedly welcome the launch of the UK Government’s Long Term Plan for Towns. It’s great to see that seven Scottish towns will benefit from £20 million each from the latest round of levelling up funding which so far has seen us invest more than £2.4 billion right across Scotland to help grow our economy and level up the country.

“I look forward to seeing these towns – and the communities within them – use this investment to breathe new life into the places where they live, work and play.”