CALDERDALE Council will recruit a team of eight new staff who will be charged to deliver funding for the borough’s major towns which might amount to an eventual £74.3 million.

Six new Town Board Project Managers, a legal officer and an additional finance officer will ensure the most effective development of an ambitious Towns Investment Programme which might amount to an eventual £74.3 million, Cabinet members heard when they met just before the coronavirus lockdown.

A Programme Manager post has already been established and the new staff were expected to start from July, although the timescale may now be altered.

The new staff will cost the council around £354,000 this year and £471,000 from 2021-22 onwards.

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Cabinet heard funding is in place or is anticipated to cover the cost of the new posts going ahead, although some for 2024-25 will have to be identified.

The council has already been awarded Government Future High Street Fund cash to support bids for Halifax and Elland, with £125,000 available to meet staffing costs over the next two years while additionally £302,000 Towns Fund money approved for Todmorden and Brighouse and £137,000 – over three years – from the Environment Agency to develop flood alleviation schemes for Hebden Bridge can also provide staffing funding over the next two years.

Funding for staffing would also be contained in the bids which the council anticipates have a high chance of success.

In total, the bids include £22.4 million from the Future High Streets Fund for Halifax and Elland, £50 million from the Towns Fund for Todmorden and Brighouse and £1.9 million Heritge Action Zone funding for the borough, together totalling £74.3 million.

Cabinet member for Regeneration and Resources, Coun Jane Scullion (Lab, Luddenden Foot) said: “This is a great opportunity – or set of opportunities.

“This is development of three different schemes intended to help particularly our market towns and our struggling high streets and Calderdale is successful in getting funding from each of these three different schemes.

“Each of those funds has different criteria, different rules in terms of the length of time and spend, and delivery criteria.

“This is to ensure we have sufficient capacity to deliver the schemes for those towns,” she said.

Council officers were in touch with relevant national civil servants for each scheme even though many things were on hiatus because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The award of Government cash has been welcome by local politicians cross-party.

Coun Geraldine Carter (Con, Ryburn) told Cabinet the Future High Streets funding for Halifax was “absolutely fantastic” and meant there was an opportunity to bring together the town centre from King Cross Street to Woolshops, top to bottom.

“I am absolutely thrilled we have got that,” she said.

Coun Scullion said that as projects changed and developed ward councillors would be involved.