Worcester to receive £19.6m of investment

Worcester City Council has secured funding from the national Town’s Fund to encourage active travel and provide new training skills for local people.

Councillors have backed the first of five business cases for projects that will bring £19.6m of Government investment to Worcester.

The first project, the Severn Centre for Health and Wellbeing has been approved by the policy and resources committee. Details will now be provided to the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities, triggering the release of the first funding instalment of £2.5m.

The money will support the development of the University of Worcester’s new £20m learning centre at the former Worcester News building.

The new health centre will be able to train up to 1,500 students each year and create 100 jobs following the contribution from the Towns fund.

Councillor Marc Bayliss, Leader of Worcester City Council, said: “The near £20m of investment will help us deliver the vision set out in our new City Plan, one of a prosperous Worcester with stronger and connected communities who are healthy and active.

“The Severn Centre for Health and Wellbeing is the first of five projects to come forward and, at a time when health services are at the forefront of our minds like never before, will make a significant contribution to training up the health experts that the NHS and other local services need.”

Professor David Green CBE DL, the University of Worcester’s Vice Chancellor, said: “The University is very grateful to the City Council for this vital financial support. This completely re-purposed building will create new specialist clinical education facilities which will enable us to educate many more nurses, doctors, paramedics, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals who are so badly needed by the NHS and the people of the city and surrounding areas.”

The business cases for the remaining four Towns Fund projects will be brought before the Policy and Resources Committee in the new year. These are;