New £2.7 million investment plan for West Lindsey has been submitted

In order to access the fund, which is the council’s allocation of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, it has to identify activities that will be right for the district and get Government approval.

Twelve interventions have been selected by the council, which will focus on three key areas, linked to the Corporate Plan, communities and place, supporting local businesses and people and skills.

Coun Owen Bierley, leader of West Lindsey District Council, said: “This funding will help us to address many challenges and opportunities in our local communities.

"Our investment Plan is about connecting people, building pride in our communities and place, supporting businesses and boosting the skills and life chances of individuals throughout our district.

“All our interventions are based on evidence of need and have been prepared following stakeholder engagement. We strongly believe our investment plan will have the greatest impact in our district and we cannot wait to get started on these exciting initiatives.”

The Shared Prosperity Fund is the UK Government’s replacement for the EU funding following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union.

Interventions highlighted by the council, include creating a flagship community grants programme that will create new and improved community facilities and boost engagement with the community.

This will help to tackle social isolation and loneliness as more than 12 per cent of adults in West Lindsey said they felt lonely ‘often’ or ‘always’.

Sally Grindrod-Smith, director of Planning, Regeneration and Communities, said: “If we want to create a strong, stable, diverse and self-sustainable business environment then we need to support our local businesses.

“West Lindsey does have ambitious plans to support inclusive growth and regeneration of our communities and in order to maximise the impact of this fund we aim to develop the best in class approach.”

The Government is expected to make the first payments to councils in October.