Levelling Up Places Service
On this page, you can find information about the Levelling Up Places (LUP) Service which offers support to organisations including local authorities in delivering culture, heritage, and sport-led regeneration projects.
About the service
From April 2023, seven Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) arm’s length bodies– Historic England, Arts Council England, Sport England, The National Lottery Heritage Fund, The National Lottery Community Fund, VisitEngland and the British Film Institute - joined forces to provide support and advice to councils and communities delivering culture-led regeneration projects as beneficiaries of the £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund.
The Levelling Up Fund invests in infrastructure that improves everyday life across the UK, regenerating town centres and high streets and investing in cultural and heritage assets. Over £3.8 billion of funding has been awarded for 216 projects across two rounds, many of which are now underway.
With new funding from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, the Levelling Up Places Service team will collaborate with councils and other stakeholders to deliver Levelling Up Fund funded projects by signposting existing guidance, developing packages of practical support, and facilitating knowledge sharing among project owners and stakeholders.
Levelling Up Round 3
In November 2023, a further £1 billion of funding was awarded to 55 local authorities, including 42 in England, in Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund.
As part of this round, £850 million will be invested in infrastructure that drives regeneration in towns, cities, and high streets, boosts local economy and revitalises communities.
The Levelling Up Places Service is now available to provide support to projects in receipt of Round 3 Levelling Up Funding.
Who is eligible for the service?
The service is available to all organisations in England who are recipients of Rounds 1, 2 and 3 of the Levelling Up Fund. We can also provide advice to a number of other projects supported by the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The full list of eligible projects includes:
- Round 1 list of successful bidders
- Round 2 list of successful bidders
- Round 3 list of successful projects
- Capital Regeneration Projects (announced in the Spring Statement 2023
- Local Authorities and Mayoral Combined Authorities in receipt of UK Shared Prosperity Funding.
A team of co-ordinators and advisors will provide expertise and resources in addition to accessing specialist support from the seven arm’s length bodies through five Area Towns Groups.
Organisations should note that the service will not be able to provide resources or funding to help directly with project delivery; however, we can signpost existing funding sources available from partner bodies.
Our advice and support
The service is able to provide advice and support on a wide range of topics, including:
- Master planning and place-shaping
- Urban design and regeneration
- Collaborative community engagement, co-design and animating capital spaces/projects
- Development economics relating to heritage, sport, or arts
- Operating/Business models of cultural facilities
- Access and inclusion on cultural capital developments
- Architectural design development (RIBA Plan of Work)
- Highways and Public Realm design principles
- Heritage conservation and archaeological risk management
- Programme/project management for cultural capital projects
- Sustainable cultural programming and audience development
- Retrofitting (zero carbon) measures
- Developing investment plans to support UK Shared Prosperity Fund recipients
To help the Service team in their initial assessment of requests, please include the following information when contacting the Service:
- LUF project reference and name (bid title);
- The nature of the advice request (maximum of 500 words); and
- Any time restrictions or deadlines relating to the advice request or project delivery timeline (maximum of 100 words).
Privacy
We will store and manage contact details and information to manage your enquiry. Project and advice details may be shared with the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. To learn more about how we use and protect your data, check our Privacy Policy.
Get the Better Places Bulletin
Every Month, the Levelling Up Places newsletter, the 'Better Places Bulletin', highlights the work of the Levelling Up Places Service, and some recent and important developments regarding Levelling Up.
Sign up to the newsletter to get monthly content including:
- The work we do
- Who is eligible for our support
- Case studies reflecting project engagement and support
- Peer learning events
- Useful resources
- Levelling Up Project Updates
- Levelling Up News
Contact Levelling Up Places Service
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Email
[email protected]
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Address
EC4R 2YA
