Three new projects commissioned using Rutland's levelling-up grant

Three new projects have been commissioned by Rutland County Council as it seeks to spend a levelling up grant provided by the government.

The Council won a joint £26.1m grant with Melton Borough Council earlier this year, and the Cabinet voted unanimously last week (15 August) to commission three projects using money from this grant.

The projects include a £6.5m 'Mobi-hub', that will link all transportation between Melton Mowbray and Oakham and a mobile visitor experience at two heritage treasures - the largest Ichthyosaur fossil in Europe, and the remains of a mosaic at a 4th Century Roman villa - that will cost £2m.

Another £3.5m will be spent on a new medi-tech facility at Rutland Memorial Hospital, which will provide labs for clinical trials, a professional development centre for local clinicians, and a training site medical and nursing students in the area.

Rutland County Council leader Gale Waller (Lib Dem), told the Cabinet that “the levelling up fund gives a wonderful opportunity to Rutland and our partners in Melton Mowbray to use government funding that our officers bid for, and won."

“What we are proposing is that we approve the money for the first stages of the commissioning of the works, which will kick-start the projects," he said.

"As with all government grants, the levelling up fund is ‘time limited’," Cllr Waller added, "so we can’t wait around until we’ve got lots of staff to work on these projects – which might be the ideal – we’ve just got to get on with it."

The Council are now looking to finalise designs, and secure construction partners, so that building work can get under way.