TORRIDGE’S Place Board met on Tuesday April 16, to discuss the potential sectors and opportunities that will be put forward to maximise the local gains from the new Levelling Up Partnership with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, which will see up to £20 million invested into the district.

The Board, made up of 20 representatives from a cross section of local businesses and services, is responsible for steering a potential programme of works, designed to improve the long-term economic opportunities for the region and deliver positive environmental and health benefits to those people living in Torridge.

DLUHC representatives, who also attended the meeting, spent two days in the district undertaking preliminary research and will return later this month to review Torridge Place Board’s proposals alongside their own independent research and wider engagement across the district.

The research and evidence will be shared with the board to help define the preferred options for the region.

A final high-level Delivery Plan will be submitted by DLUHC civil servants to ministers in May setting out the potential for investment in thematic and sectoral areas of strength based on opportunities for Torridge and estimated impacts of the LUP metrics.

Feedback is expected to the proposals in June.

The timescales for delivery of any projects that are allocated funding will be tight as under the terms of the funding, all capital investment needs to be spent by March 2025.

Cllr Ken James, Leader of Torridge District Council, said:“We were delighted to welcome the representatives from DLUHC earlier this week and show them the range of benefits that this scale of investment can bring to our area.

“We are at a very exciting stage in the programme, as we focus in on the thematic and sectoral areas where we can make a real difference to the community in Torridge by bringing further high-level job creation and skills input opportunities to the region and then, crucially, how we continue to secure investment moving forward to continue our local growth.”

Paul Coles, Chair of Torridge Place Board, said:“The Board has developed a strong place story, which celebrates Torridge and provides a sharp focus to ministers to show how this inward investment will enable us to build on our key sectors whilst creating new opportunities around high-tech engineering, clean maritime technologies, aquaculture, Agri-tech, and floating offshore wind, to name just a few. Initial feedback from DHLUC has been encouraging and we look forward to working with them on the next phase.”

Rt. Hon. Sir Geoffrey Cox KC, MP for Torridge and West Devon, said: “With the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and our own Torridge Place Board’s close collaboration, this marks a pivotal moment for our district's future.

“The Levelling Up Partnership amounts to the most ambitious and comprehensive opportunity to boost our local economy we have ever seen. Working together, we are poised to unlock up to £20 million in investment, which on top of our winning £15 million bid for a Clean Energy Maritime Innovation Centre at Appledore, and along with other measures, will steer Torridge toward long-term economic growth, fostering new opportunities for local people.

“I shall be meeting the Secretary of State next month to discuss Torridge’s priorities and the delivery plan submitted to him by civil servants and I hope he will be visiting us personally to see for himself the value of the projects we will propose.”