In his latest column, High Peak MP Robert Largan writes about the Levelling Up Fund bid submitted for Glossop and what it could mean for the town.

I am proud to be backing an historic £27 million plan to ‘level up’ Glossop town centre.

Working on a cross-party basis, I am supporting proposals for a new leisure centre and wellbeing hub on the old Glossopdale School site on Talbot Road.

The hub would provide a much-needed modern leisure facility and offer improved local healthcare provision for the town. The plans also include a new swimming pool on the same site.

The £20 million Glossop bid is part of the Conservative Government’s Levelling Up Fund. This comes on top of the £7 million restoration of Glossop Town Hall, which is already underway.

The bid also includes proposals to restore the much-loved Victoria Hall and secure the building’s future. This would include installing a lift and bringing the first floor back into use, allowing the building to be used as a live performance venue once again.

The proposals also open the possibility of further regenerating the high street around the current leisure centre site in the town centre, perhaps with a boutique cinema.

In addition, I’m keen to work with the local NHS to try and boost local healthcare provision as part of the plan. I think there is real potential for using part of the Talbot Road site for improving local access to healthcare.

Following my lobbying efforts, High Peak was made one of the top priority areas for the Levelling Up Fund.

Labour-run High Peak Borough Council initially failed to submit a bid for the first round of funding to this once-in-a-generation opportunity. This was bitterly disappointing.

But, after over a year of meetings between myself and the Council, I am pleased that this bid in the second round of funding has finally been agreed.

It hasn’t been an easy process. The Labour Council frequently dragged their feet and delayed crucial decisions. I had to consistently push the Council to meet the required deadlines.

However, as a Glossop resident, I’m very pleased that we’ve finally been able to work together to submit this funding bid.

Over the coming weeks and months, I’ll be working hard on a cross-party basis to support this bid – putting our case to the highest levels of government – to try and secure this funding.

This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to make Glossop an even better place to live!

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