UK Shared Prosperity Fund

We have been allocated £1,083,399 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF) to spend on local projects between 2022 and March 2025. The UKSPF is part of the government’s levelling up agenda and enables local areas to focus on their own priorities to build pride in place, boost productivity and spread opportunities.

Following extensive consultation with partners resulting in over 120 responses, we have submitted its UKSPF investment plan to government in July 2022. We then invited local partners to bid to help us deliver our plan.

Our UKSPF investment plan is based on analysis of the issues and challenges facing Arun as well as the priorities identified in our strategies and plans. (See our bidding guidance for links to key documents.) We have also taken into account more than 120 ideas for projects suggested by our partners during our consultation. The amount of our allocation is relatively small so these ideas have been prioritised according to the aims in our key strategies and incorporated under our investment plan themes, if appropriate.

Key considerations in developing our investment plan were:

• our intention to deliver maximum impact for the relatively small amount of money available to support our strategic priorities
• the Government’s requirements for monitoring and evaluation; data must be easily collectable, measurable and commensurate with the level of funding available
• the imperative to deliver projects quickly and cost effectively, including starting in the current financial year for the UKSPF communities and place and supporting local business investment priorities

25 projects have been approved across three themes: communities and place, supporting local businesses, and people and skills. The fund has now closed to new applications.