People in the East Cleveland town of Loftus have benefited from the redevelopment and relocation of the local library with help from the previous government’s Towns Fund, according to an independent evaluation. But the sports hall that was redeveloped as part of the same project is “not entirely fit purpose”, says the same assessment.
Loftus was awarded a total of £12mn from a variety of sources including the borough council, Tees Valley Combined Authority and the government’s £830mn Future High Streets Fund, which forms part of the £3.6bn Towns Fund.
The aim of the Towns Fund is to drive towns’ economic regeneration and reshape towns and high streets to ensure future economic sustainability and growth. It is made up of two parts: Town Deals and the Future High Streets Fund.
Redcar & Cleveland is one of 101 places in England to have received a Towns Fund grant. Others in the North East are Bishop Auckland, Blyth, Darlington, Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, and Thornaby.
Among projects financed by the Loftus money was the renovation and extension of a Victorian building in Duncan Place to create a multi-use facility including a new public library with park views, an improved family hub offering youth and community services and a new community hall designed for sports groups, events, and youth activities.
Frontier Economics and BMG Research were commissioned by the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) to undertake an evaluation of the Towns Fund, starting in Loftus and Redcar (treated separately) and five other locations – Northallerton, Kidsgrove, Hereford. Norwich and Yeovil.
Their report, they say, is not final and sets out emerging, indicative process and impact findings from the first seven case studies.
Loftus library and sports hall
In Loftus, says the evaluation, the library located in Duncan Place has seen an increase in usage since its completion. The Loftus Library saw the single largest increase in active borrowers across any of the 13 libraries in the Redcar & Cleveland area for which data is available in 2023/24. Stakeholders reported this usage was largely driven by an increase in overall library usage rather than displacement from other libraries.
“Local stakeholders cited significant improvement in the appearance and functionality of the space. They also reported that the new facilities offered new activities and reported benefits from having library services, youth services, and family services in one location. This is consistent with evidence from the resident survey, with more than 50% of visitors reporting that the library had improved since its relocation to Duncan Place.
“However, there appears to be an unintended negative effect on youth services attendance due to the refurbishment, with the redeveloped sports hall not entirely fit for purpose due to trade-offs made in the design of the building to support its environmental sustainability.”
Redcar & Cleveland College
Part of Redcar’s money was spent on a Centre for Energy at Redcar & Cleveland College to support skills development in the energy sector. This project and a similar one in Norwich have also been evaluated by Frontier Economics and BMG Research.
These projects, says the report, have led to hundreds of learners acquiring training and education at the newly built education facilities. In Redcar, learner and apprentice numbers at courses which use the new facilities increased from 79 in 2022/2023 (the year prior to the facilities opening) to 178 in 2023/24.
Pride in place
Across the seven case studies, say Frontier and BMG, the facilities delivered by the pride in place and local wellbeing-related projects [which include Loftus] appear to drive changes in residents’ participation in the community and satisfaction with local amenities. Local stakeholders and residents interviewed as part of the case studies were also consistently positive about the overall output of the projects and the early effects that these projects were perceived to have in their communities.
Visitors to Duncan Place in Loftus were likelier to report they were very satisfied with their lives, with 36% of the visitors reporting they were very satisfied compared to 26% of non-visitors. Similarly, visitors reported lower anxiety levels and higher happiness levels than non-visitors. This difference in anxiety and happiness levels is stronger for more frequent visitors to Duncan Place, say Frontier and BMG.
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