Orkney Towns Fund geographic spread confirmed

Absolute confirmation has now been received from the UK Government that Orkney’s £20m funding allocation from the Long-Term Plan for Towns programme can be used for the whole of Orkney - not just Kirkwall.  

In other areas of the country the funds have been allocated to specific towns. In Orkney the decision was taken by the Orkney Towns Board to request that, rather than limit to Kirkwall only, the whole of Orkney should qualify – with the UK Government now having confirmed that this is acceptable.  

In March this year it was announced that the county was to receive £20m of Levelling Up funding from the UK Government. 

The funding came specifically from the Levelling Up Fund’s ‘Long-Term Plan for Towns’ funding stream, which sees ten-year endowment-style funds allocated to local areas, with Boards then set up locally to make decisions on how the funds should be spent. 

An Orkney Towns Board was formed in the Spring, with work going on since then to pull together a local vision and action plan for the fund 

Over 800 project ideas have been submitted as part of an Orkney-wide community engagement strategy and the Board is currently carrying out an assessment which will inform priorities for the fund 

Commenting on the confirmation received from the UK Government, Orkney Towns Board Chair, Stephen Hagan said: “Ever since the fund was announced back in March, a key question from the public has been on the geographic extent of the funds – was the funding for the whole of Orkney or just for projects in Kirkwall. 

“From the outset – despite the initial lack of clarity from the UK Government - our Board has been working on the basis that the funds should be used across Orkney, spreading the benefit that this £20m allocation can bring as far and wide in our community as possible.  We are therefore pleased that the UK Government have now confirmed that this pragmatic approach was the correct one.  

“With the change in Government there was a period of pause whilst we awaited the Autumn budget statement.   

“The Board is still waiting for a revised prospectus from the new Government along with capacity funding in order to progress with planning and engagement.  It has also been confirmed that delivery grant funding will not now become available until financial year 2026/27. 

“This is longer than had been expected for the main release of the funding, but it does not mean that work will stop.  Plans for next year include further development of priorities and project feasibility and preparation work.”