What next if your Levelling Up Fund Round Two bid was unsuccessful

Revisit the bid budgets

Government Levelling Up Fund Round Two guidelines on bid submissions were for projects up to £20m. As such, many local authorities submitted bids close to this value to maximise the potential revenue for their projects. However, it could be worth going back into the history of the bid before that £20m number was announced. Local authorities may find the numbers in the early fact-finding work for projects were significantly lower – could that project be done for £14 million, or £10 million?

Look for other funds

While the Levelling Up Fund is the primary channel through which the government is distributing funds, there are other national and local initiatives to investigate. Also, it may be possible to achieve funding directly from the government should the local authority initiative be particularly compelling – which leads to the next point….

Consider other projects

It is possible you submitted a bid on what you considered to be your biggest priority. However, are there other projects that were explored but did not make the final cut? Often local councillors have favourite projects that, while smaller, may be sufficiently politically important (a new primary school extension, rather than an entire new health centre for instance) to draw in funding. If the local authority can deliver on these smaller projects efficiently using other funding sources, it could put them in good standing for future bids.

Look ahead for next time

There will be more opportunities for funding, with £1bn still be be awarded in a future round. Many bids were successful because the local authority had already built an end-to-end business case to inform a more accurate, detailed bid. Doing so also meant when the funds were allocated, the initial stages of the project were complete, and a local authority could get their project to site quicker.

So start scoping future projects and bring one or two business cases together so that, when the next round of funding is announced, they can move quickly with accurate and comprehensive information. The government’s own HM Treasury Green Book and HM Treasury Guide To Developing The Project Business Case are excellent guides for building comprehensive business cases.

Willmott Dixon Development Solutions

We have extensive experience in helping local authorities build business cases, optimise projects for cost and develop relationships and funding solutions with Government to bring new projects to life. Contact us to see how we could be of assistance in your local authority.