Ashfield council to head workshop on creating 'tomorrow's communities' as £75m funds edge closer

Councillor Jason Zadrozny will lead council chiefs and officers in discussions on the future of town centres and communities at the upcoming District Council’s Network (DCN) Conference – where he is vice-chairman.

It comes as the council prepares to outline its bids for both the Future High Street and Towns Funds, which could see as much as £75 million invested into the district for both Sutton and Kirkby town centres.

Initial funding of £324,000 – £162,000 per town – has been granted to put structures and a vision in place, in order to move to the next stage of agreeing a deal for the Towns Fund.

As part of this, the council will be working with the Discover Ashfield board, as well as local businesses and community groups, to work out how the potential £25 million for each town can be spent.

The objective of the Towns Fund is to drive the economic regeneration, long term economic and productivity growth of towns across the country.

Councillor Zadrozny said: “As vice chairman of the DCN I am pleased to be able to lead this workshop on the future of town centres and communities.

“To have the opportunity to share ideas with other councils will really benefit to our application to the Towns Fund.

“To have this huge amount in uncompetitive funding coming to two Ashfield towns is a once in a lifetime opportunity for the area.”

Coun Zadrozny will be joined in his workshop by John Parmiter, director of Future High Streets, and Rachel Fisher, deputy director for regeneration and infrastructure at the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Other speakers at the DCN conference include Sajid Javid, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Robert Jenrick, secretary of state for housing, communities and local government.

Ashfield District Council has also been awarded £95k in the next step of the Future High Streets Fund. The fund, announced last year, could see Sutton receive further funding of up to £25 million if its bid is successful.