Local MSP Brian Whittle has welcomed confirmation from the UK Government that they will be investing £20 million in Kilmarnock over the next decade.
Brian hopes the funds, coming directly from the UK Government to East Ayrshire Council, will give the council new opportunities to support communities in Kilmarnock.
The investment was announced as part of the UK Government’s Long-term Plan for Towns which is designed to give communities like Kilmarnock more of a say in their future and focus funding on their priorities.
The initiative aims to turn around the fortunes of town-centres across the UK, many of which have been in decline. In Kilmarnock, that could include improving transport links, greater efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour, supporting community projects and boosting the local economy.
The next step for Kilmarnock will see the creation of a Towns Board, bringing together community leaders, businesses, public sector agencies, cultural organisations, sports clubs and other community groups to decide where and how the money allocated to the area is spent.
As he welcomed the announcement of the funding, Brian said he hoped people in Kilmarnock would see this as a vote of confidence in them by the UK Government and encouraged them to grasp the opportunity with both hands
He also encouraged the SNP-Green Government in Edinburgh to work with the UK Government and East Ayrshire Council to make the most out of this opportunity and not get distracted by “territorial spats”.
Brian Whittle MSP said:
“This £20 million investment in Kilmarnock by the UK Government over the next decade is a huge vote of confidence in the town and its communities.
All too often, decisions about funding are made centrally with a one-size-fits-all approach that just doesn’t work on the ground. With this funding, the UK Government are recognising that trusting local people to make the right decisions for their community can bring much better results.
There’s already a lot of great work happening in Kilmarnock, not least the £22 million in UK Levelling Up funding for the Palace Theatre redevelopment, and this funding can help that go even further. At a time when people across the UK are facing big economic challenges, this funding can make a real difference to everything from transport links to keeping communities safe to creating new opportunities for children and young people.
I know in Kilmarnock will grasp this opportunity with both hands and support the Towns Board as it brings together a whole range of people from the community to decide how best to use this money.
At the same time, I hope the Scottish Government won’t decide to turn this UK Government funding of East Ayrshire Council into a territorial spat and instead work with them both to make the most of an exciting opportunity for Kilmarnock.”
