Bolsover District Council have submitted a £14.2 million bid to the Government’s ‘Levelling Up’ fund to help regenerate and breathe new life into Bolsover Town Centre.
If successful, the bid will support a range of town centre regeneration, public realm improvements, cultural and heritage projects within the town. The bid is being supported by £1.24 million in match funding from both Bolsover District Council and Old Bolsover Town Council, bringing the total value of the potential investment in the area to £15.48 million.
Council leader, councillor Steve Fritchley, said: “We are an ambitious council and this is an ambitious bid to help stimulate growth and providing town centre regeneration as well as cultural opportunities in the town.”
Working with partners, the bid is split into three distinct projects with environmental sustainability embedded across all the strands driving forward the Council’s ambition for carbon reduction.
The strands are as follows:
- Regeneration of vacant town centre retail units to create a new ‘Cultural Hub’ that includes an independent small cinema, theatre and live performance space, gallery, museum and exhibition space, food and drinks court and Artisan and producers centre. Adapting the derelict Oxcroft House building to support the town’s business base, offering a hub for training, co-working and in particular encouraging new business start-ups in cultural and arts sectors.
- A shop front improvement scheme that will improve the appearance of the town and enhance the retail offer to residents and visitors. Improvements will also be made to the public realm (pavements, signage, street furniture, etc) that will encourage visitors to spend more time in the town and connect the town to Bolsover Castle.
- Investing in 5G network and installing fibre in the town centre to help improve connectivity and provide much needed Wi-Fi. This will provide real time bus information and digital information totems in key locations. Digital technology such as ‘Park Here Now’ and new augmented reality experiences will help enhance the visitor experience and increase footfall in the town.
Cllr Fritchley added: “This bid has the potential to deliver significant benefits to the town of Bolsover and our local communities. It illustrates our clear commitment to deliver major development and regeneration for Bolsover District as well as maximising the opportunities that the 100,000 plus visitors to Bolsover Castle bring.
“We are confident that we have put forward a compelling bid, which presents the strongest options in meeting the full criteria of the ‘Levelling Up’ fund and has the potential to make a real difference to a core area of the town centre and our visitor economy.”
