The funding was awarded to help improve Greenock town centre and boost regeneration.

Welcoming the announcement, Councillor Stephen McCabe, leader of Inverclyde Council and co-chair of Inverclyde Socio-Economic Taskforce, said: “Funding like this is crucial to allow us, as a council, to regenerate Greenock Town Centre and help improve opportunities for Inverclyde.

“The Inverclyde Socio-Economic task force was established to explore opportunities for investment and I’m pleased our collective voice has been listened to by the UK government and we now have an opportunity to build upon the existing £20m Levelling Up funding to breathe new life into Greenock Town Centre.

“Promoting Greenock and Inverclyde as a great place to live, work, visit and do business is vital to the ongoing success of the area and this funding will help us to deliver meaningful improvements for the benefit of residents and businesses, allowing them to help us shape the priorities for the area.”

Towns have been allocated funding according to the Levelling Up Needs Index which takes into account metrics covering skills, pay, productivity and health, as well as the Index of Multiple Deprivation to ensure funding goes directly to the towns which will benefit most, without new competitions or unnecessary hurdles. A full methodology note will be published.

Seven Scottish towns have been named by the Prime Minister as part of £1.1 billion levelling up investment being provided to 55 towns across the UK.

Clydebank, Coatbridge, Dumfries, Elgin, Irvine, Greenock and Kilmarnock will each receive £20m from the UK government as part of a long-term investment plan for towns that have been overlooked and taken for granted.

The money will be provided directly by the UK government to the relevant local authority which will work with them and the Scottish Government to take a place-centred approach which maximises investment and opportunity.

Under the new approach, local people will be put in charge, and given the tools to change their town’s long-term future. They will: 

• Receive a ten-year endowment-style fund to be spent on local people’s priorities, like regenerating local high streets and town centres or securing public safety.
• Set up a Town Board to bring together community leaders, employers and local authorities to deliver the Long-Term Plan for their town and put it to local people for consultation.

More than half the UK population live in towns, but half-empty high streets, run-down town centres and anti-social behaviour undermine towns in every part of the UK. Today’s announcement marks a change in approach which will empower communities to take back control of their future, taking long term decisions in the interests of local people.

This plan builds on the UK government’s central mission to level up the UK by putting more power and money in the hands of people who know their areas best to build a brighter future for their community, creating bespoke initiatives that will spark the regeneration needed.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “Towns are the place most of us call home and where most of us go to work. But politicians have always taken towns for granted and focused on cities.

“The result is the half-empty high streets, run-down shopping centres and anti-social behaviour that undermine many towns’ prosperity and hold back people’s opportunity – and without a new approach, these problems will only get worse.

“That changes today. Our Long-Term Plan for Towns puts funding in the hands of local people themselves to invest in line with their priorities, over the long-term. That is how we level up.”