Engaging the Private Sector
Overview and Purpose
The 101 Towns we are working with have a broad set of sectors and employers who call their towns home. From SMEs through to major employers, the variety and scale of opportunity on the Towns Fund is compelling.
The Towns have distinct economic geographies and each of their projects target making their towns better with long term economic opportunity and growth.
Engagement, and working with the private sector, is core to the programme, in a number of different ways. Firstly, the Towns have each established a Town Deal Board (TDB) who are leading the production of the Town Investment Plan (TIP). The TIP is the mechanism MHCLG have introduced for Towns to bid for their investment (up to £25m). The TDB's are encouraged to have an active private sector Chair, which will help to ensure there is private sector perspective throughout the TIP. This should be complemented and supported by a strong voice from the local community.
Secondly, the Towns are working hard to secure investment to match fund their capital projects. The TIP will set out the strategic vision for the area, along with the key project(s) that the Town would like to progress through this Fund. In that respect, there are at least 101 opportunities for the private sector to engage through this route. The Towns are looking at innovative ways to fund their projects and drive economic activity and employment in their locality and are seeking partners who want to share in the prosperity their projects will create.
Thirdly, the Towns want to develop their relationships with businesses across their Town and region to identify opportunities in collaboration which go beyond the span of the Town Deal they are developing. The TIP is just the start of a long-term vision to drive economic activity and sustainable growth which is even more important as the country works through the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Strong partnerships and inspiring leadership are also a central component for the Towns Fund programme. Towns are looking for partners with energy and drive to help to deliver real impact for the local businesses and people who are currently there, whilst also looking ahead to attract new growth opportunities in the future.
Keeping in touch
There are lots of ways the private sector can engage in the Towns Fund. There are a series of events focused at private sector partnerships over the next twelve months; signing up to the newsletter and keeping abreast of what is going on through this website is a great place to start.
Get involved with your local Town Deal Board – the list of the towns can be found here.
Invest and support projects in your towns and see what they have included in the published TIPs from each town as they are available online - also available on our Towns page.
If you want to support on a national level, come to the Towns Fund Delivery Partner engagement event for the private sector on 17 December. To register your interest in this event, please email info@townsfund.org.uk