Create Your First Project
Start adding your projects to your portfolio. Click on "Manage Projects" to get started
Levelling Up Fund bid Blackpool
Client:
Blackpool Borough Council
Study objectives:
• Work as part of a multi-disciplinary consultancy team to develop the Counci’s Levelling Up Fund bid;
• Complete desk-based research to identify market failure argument; create a bespoke theory of change model; and a monitoring and evaluation plan; and,
• Lead the bid writing for the Levelling Up Fund application.
Robert Latham - Head of Project Development & Funding
"Thrive Economics were recommended to us and brought into a team of consultants who supported our LUF bid. They worked extremely hard. Their support was invaluable and I would recommend them to others."
We were commissioned by Blackpool Borough Council through GENECON to write the Council’s £39.5 million Levelling Up Fund bid.
We commenced the commission by reviewing Blackpool’s socio-economic profile and previous bids for related schemes. We identified six major challenges that the three projects addressed including:
• Retail under pressure with a significant drop in footfall;
• Poor quality built environment;
• Dependency on short-stay tourism; and,
• High unemployment.
We worked with staff across the Council and the multi-disciplinary consultancy team to outline how the three projects address identified market failures and national and local priorities. We developed a bespoke theory of change model for the bid setting out how investment in a new hotel, active travel and connection measures and the Winter Gardens would deliver outcomes including:
• Reduced cost of town centre congestion;
• Reduced demand on the NHS through adoption of active travel;
• Creation of employment at the hotel; and
• Increase in long stay visits and visitor spend.
We outlined how the requested investment supports existing and planned investment from other funding sources including the £40.5 million Town Deal Programme. We developed the commercial and management case providing a timetable from the receipt of Levelling Up Fund support through to the completion of the three schemes. A decision from the Government is expected in Autumn 2021.