Huge investment boost for Hull city centre with launch of new £7.5m Levelling Up Fund Grant Scheme

A NEW grant scheme was launched on 2 March 2022 to support various businesses and inject millions of pounds of investment into Hull city centre.

£7.5m has been allocated from the £19.5m awarded to Hull City Council from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund to finance a grant scheme that will support new and existing businesses in the city centre.

The Levelling Up Fund Grant Scheme will issue grants of up to £750,000, that can be awarded with a minimum of 50 per cent match funding from the applicant.

Councillor Daren Hale, leader of Hull City Council and portfolio holder for regeneration and investment, said: “We’ve seen the success of grant schemes in revitalising our city centre – most notably in the Old Town, on the marina and at Trinity Market.

“This new grant scheme is the biggest we have ever created and its reach will be far greater than previous schemes, with the ability to re-energise a much wider area of our city centre.

“These type of schemes, alongside the various other examples of public and private investment, have the ability to transform the heart of our city for generations to come.”

The Levelling Up Fund Grant Scheme will bring unused floorspace of any vacant or partially occupied property back into use. Similar to previous grant schemes in the Old Town, the Levelling Up Grant Scheme will allow various diverse businesses to open and operate, breathing new life into the area.

The grant scheme will cover Whitefriargate, Albion Square and the surrounding connecting areas.

Previous grant schemes have supported various businesses in the city centre to either open or develop.

In November last year, The 55 Group, a collective of leading cross-industry businesses, completed its relocation to the former HSBC building on Whitefriargate in Hull city centre following a £1.6m redevelopment project.

The project was supported by a £711,000 grant from the Humber High Street Challenge Fund.

Gerard Toplass, group chief executive of The 55 Group, said: “While our businesses operate nationally, we are extremely proud of our Hull-based roots and are passionate about promoting Hull as a city of excellence.

“It’s excellent news for Hull that this Levelling Up Fund Grant Scheme is being launched to support further investment and rejuvenation to create even better opportunities for those living here. It’s a city that understands the value that comes from investment, which we have fully supported through the refurbishment of our headquarters, and we look forward to seeing what the fund will enable Hull to achieve.”

The Hull and East Yorkshire LEP’s Humber High Street Challenge Fund, alongside Historic England’s High Street Heritage Action Zone, has already delivered grants to various projects and businesses in the Whitefriargate area.

More information about the new Levelling Up Fund Grant Scheme can be found here.

Interested parties are asked to submit an expression of interest form and successful applicants will be invited to complete a full application form.