Hopeful Towns: BID-BUILDER

1. Keep your ear to the ground for new opportunities

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Information about new government funds – and about new waves of existing funds – will tend to land corporately in the first instance. It will be emailed by the department to senior officers rather than politicians.

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With large funds this means an email about an opportunity going straight to the Chief Executive. Usually this will percolate through the council. However, strong internal relationships are essential in ensuring that council departments hear about it. The biggest barrier here is a lack of internal dialogue.

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The types of central government funding which are directly or indirectly relevant to cohesion work will often come from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) – which was previously the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG).

However, relevant funding may also emerge via the department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Home Office (HO), the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) or occasionally the Treasury.