Shepton Mallet's MP James Heappey has hailed the recent announcement which has handed Mendip District Council and Sedgemoor District Council the opportunity to invest in local infrastructure thanks to two funding streams.

Both council areas in Somerset will receive £150,000 of funding as part of the Levelling Up fund, which was announced at the Spending Review.

This money will be used to invest in local infrastructure, including town centre and high street regeneration, local transport projects, and cultural and heritage assets.

Alongside the Budget, the Government launched the prospectus for the fund, which will provide guidance to local areas on the process for submitting bids, the types of projects eligible for funding and how bids will be assessed.

To ensure funding reaches the places most in need, the Government has identified priority places based on an index of local need to receive capacity funding to help them co-ordinate their applications. Each priority place will receive £150,000 – and these include Mendip and Sedgemoor.

The two areas have also been prioritised for the £220 million Community Renewal Fund. The fund will support communities in 2021/22 to pilot programmes and new approaches as the government moves away from the EU Structural Funds model and towards the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

Each priority place will receive £20,000.

Mr Heappey said: "I am very pleased to see both Mendip and Sedgemoor benefit from investment in to the local area.

"It is crucial we are ambitious in plans moving forward to enhance Somerset where we can. With the Towns Fund bid also underway for Glastonbury, I am pleased to see such commitment to this part of the country – especially with the challenges the pandemic has posed.

"I look forward to working with the councils to ensure we get the very best out of this great opportunity."