Salford secures £2.24m in funding to boost businesses and arts

The council said the funding would see Eccles Court House brought "back into community use"

More than £2m of levelling up funding will be used to improve a city, support its small businesses and "boost arts and culture," a council has said.

Salford City Council said £2.24m from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund would be spent over the next three years.

It will see Eccles Court House brought "back into community use" and two local arts and heritage funds created.

City mayor Paul Dennett said the money would be "spent on a rolling basis as activities and projects are approved".

The council said it had "secured" the funds through the "Communities and Place element of the fund", after submitting proposals to Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA), which manages the fund in the city region.

A representative said the money would be "spread over three years" and would be used to create "two new arts, culture, and heritage pots" worth £475,000 to support community projects, bring the courthouse in Eccles Town Hall "back into community use" and "improve facilities and programmes for local entrepreneurs" who want to "scale or build" their business at Host Salford, MediaCityUK's innovation hub.

Mr Dennett said the council was "committed to supporting a thriving, green and creative Salford and this funding is a significant boost that will help us to achieve these long-term ambitions".

"It will be spent on a rolling basis as activities and projects are approved.

"We're looking forward to bringing our proposals to life for the benefit of local people and visitors to our vibrant city."

David Molyneux, GMCA's lead for resources and investment, said the three programmes were "a brilliant example" of how such funding "can be put into practice".

"Putting local authorities at the forefront of the funding allows those working at the heart of communities to engage with local people and ensure funds can be spent in a way to deliver maximum benefit," he said.

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