Island communities across the UK will benefit from a new £1.6
million project funded by the UK Government to improve vital
transport links, helping to support local jobs and grow the
economy.
Levelling Up Secretary made the announcement as local
authorities from islands across the UK gathered for the fourth UK
Islands Forum in Anglesey.
The UK Islands Forum Connectivity Project will look at
identifying options to improve transport in these distinct parts
of the UK, which are often reliant on air and ferry services due
to their geographical location. Good transport connectivity is
essential for the prosperity of island communities and the local
economy, but there are significant challenges and gaps in the
island transport data and evidence needed to support investment
cases.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC)
and Department for Transport (DfT) are leading the project
jointly, combining local and levelling up knowledge with
specialist transport skills and expertise.
Together they will create the first-ever UK-wide evidence-base on
island transport connectivity, providing the UK's islands with
new data and insights to improve capacity and capability. The
project will also provide better evidence to support future
investment decisions to drive innovation and levelling-up to meet
shared priorities.
The UK Government is also providing £3 million to the
Orkney-based European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC) over two years
- the world's first and leading wave and tidal energy testing
facility, with a further role in green hydrogen development.
Ministers visited its facilities at the inaugural Islands Forum
hosted in Orkney in 2022. This new funding will help EMEC to
deliver the UK's Net Zero ambitions, increase innovation and
investment in research and development, and drive the levelling
up agenda and green growth.
Levelling Up Secretary said:
Our islands contribute so much to the UK, and we value everything
that's distinct about them.
These projects have been made possible by the successful
collaboration through our UK Island Forum, with our fourth event
taking place on the Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn today.
The forum gives island leaders the chance to discuss the unique
issues that matter most to their communities, and I am thrilled
to see our discussions paving the way for vital change in areas
like transport and driving forward green growth on islands.
These new projects are the direct result of fruitful discussions
at past Island Forums hosted by the UK Government.
Island transport connections were a key theme at the last
Islands Forum on the Isle of Lewis last October, and
discussions resulted in the Levelling Up Secretary proposing a new ‘task and
finish' group to explore the topic in-depth.
The group, which includes representatives from UK and devolved
governments and member councils, have since met regularly to
identify common transport issues and potential solutions – and
now, with the launch of this new £1.6 million project, the UK
Government will be empowering and equipping these island
leaders to spearhead change.
Levelling Up Minister said:
The Islands Forum has been a wonderful innovation that has helped
to put our island communities at the heart of UK Government
policy-making and make sure that their voices are heard.
Being in North Wales this week has allowed me to see for myself
the levelling up investment that is already making a difference
and to hear from local leaders and residents on Anglesey about
the issues that matter most to them.
The forum comes alongside the UK Government's levelling up
support for island communities across the UK, such as:
- £20m Levelling Up Partnership with Argyll and Bute part
of which will support island communities there
- £20m Levelling Up Partnership with the Western Isles
- £20m Towns Funding and £13.6m Green Link funding on the Isle
of Wight
- £20m Towns Funding for Kirkwall and £282,000 Community
Ownership Fund for The Pund, Ronaldsay in Orkney
- £26m for Fair Isle ferry works and £550,000 Community
Ownership Funding for the Fair Isle Bird Observatory in the
Shetland Islands
- £6m capital funding for a museum and cultural centre in the
Isles of Scilly
