Ipswich Towns Fund: Three projects get £1.25m investment

Suffolk New College is set to benefit from the Towns Fund

Three Suffolk projects have received a total of £1.25 from the government's Towns Fund deal.

Ipswich is one of 101 places in England which will benefit from the cash to support economic growth, with up to £25m promised for 11 projects.

The money will go to Suffolk New College, a Post Office revamp and the Ipswich Oasis project.

Tom Hunt, Conservative MP for Ipswich, said: "I think they will be a massive success for Ipswich."

The Towns Fund, administered by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, is investing £3.6bn into towns and cities as part of the government's plan to "level up" towns and aid recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic.

As part of the "grant offer" stage, 5% of those funds - £1.25m - has been released to fund early projects, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

The Town Deal Board decided which projects could receive the early cash, with Ipswich Borough Council's executive formally backing the decision.

Labour council leader David Ellesmere said the money allocated so far was "for projects with a smaller amount of money but where the spending has already occurred or about to occur".

The former Post Office on Ipswich's Cornhill is undergoing a restoration project

Suffolk New College's new Net Zero Technology Campus and Sustainable Construction Centre will get £940,000.

The old Post Office revamp on the Cornhill, which is being transformed into a new restaurant for The Botanist, will get £230,000 and £80,000 has been agreed for the Ipswich Oasis Town Centre Greening project for tree and flower planting across the town and waterfront.

The college said the cash would be used for a centre dedicated to new and future technology and support teaching of sustainable construction skills.

Principal Viv Gillespie said: "The Net Zero Skills Campus will enable us to equip local people with the skills they need for the jobs of the future."

The second tranche of cash is due to be released in March 2022, subject to approval of business cases.

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