Norwich could benefit from major regeneration projects to boost jobs, build homes and revamp parts of the city centre if a £25m bid succeeds, say council leaders.
Norwich is one of about 100 cities in with a chance of getting cash from the government’s Town Fund scheme and details of the council’s bid have been revealed.
The Norwich Investment Plan details eight projects in Norwich, with investment to be focused on the historic city centre and an area to the east of the city, earmarked for thousands of new homes.
The projects include:
• Refurbishing St Andrew’s Hall and Blackfriar’s Hall in Norwich
• Digital hub – a new city centre workspace for digital businesses.
• Two projects at City College Norwich. That would include the Digi-tech factory - a multi-million pound skills facility providing digital tech, engineering and design courses. The second project would see the refurbishment of a teaching lab to create an Advanced Construction and Engineering Centre, for new learners and workers needing to get new skills.
• Investment in East Norwich to accelerate the development of a new gateway to Norwich, including at the former Colman’s site and the Deal Ground site, where thousands of homes are due to be built.
• A revolving fund of cash to unlock building on brownfield sites.
• Investment in the historic city centre, including enhancing squares and public gardens, improving traffic management and lowering car emissions.
City Hall’s cabinet will consider the plan next Wednesday, ahead of submitting its bid at the end of July.
Alan Waters, city council leader, said: “The projects put forward in our Norwich Investment Plan are focused on enhancing the creativity, liveability, connectivity, accessibility and inclusivity of the city centre.
“This is an opportunity to rethink our approach to achieving our ambitions, particularly in light of the pandemic.
“It allows us to look at the long term future of the city and its place in the UK and global economy, through clean growth and by ensuring residents are equipped with the skills of the future, have access to good jobs with fair pay and progression, and are better connected to growth sectors.”
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