CREWE is waiting to discover the fate of its bid for up to £25 million of government regeneration cash.

Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced that 45 towns were to be handed a share of £1 billion of Towns Fund cash as part of his budget earlier this month.

Crewe was not on the list of places to benefit, which included nearby Kidsgrove, Rochdale, Workington and Carlisle, with money pledged by government as part of its "levelling up" policy and to help with recovery from the economic effects of the pandemic.

Crewe had been among "101 left-behind areas" chosen for the Towns Fund scheme in 2019, after which a town board was formed to choose and submit proposals for projects that could benefit from the investment.

Crewe Town Board submitted its Town Investment Plan outlining the finer details of the regeneration projects it would like to see completed to the government at the end of January.

The chancellor's initial selections relate to towns who had made earlier submissions.

Crewe Town Board Chairman Doug Kinsman anticipates Crewe may hear how successful its bid has been next month.

When the government initially announced the scheme it said in total there was £3.6bn to be shared out, although not all of those towns announced by the chancellor have been offered the full £25m allocation.

For example, Mansfield has an offer of £12.3m and Kidsgrove £16.9m, while Ipswich, Leyland, Newark, Northampton, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton are to get £25m.

Projects are assessed on various criteria with a bias towards those that are "shovel-ready" and capable of proceeding with quickly.

Crewe's projects have remained under wraps while the application process is undertaken, although it is understood schemes centred around Valley Brook/Valley Park and the former Flag Lane Baths have been considered.

The Crewe Board's chairman said: "The board and Cheshire East Council submitted Crewe's Town Investment Plan proposal at the end of January this year as part of cohort three of the Towns Fund.

"We are expecting to hear back from the government on our proposal in April at the earliest."

Mr Kinsman added: "The announcements made in the Budget regarding the Towns Fund related to towns that made submissions in cohorts one and two.

"We are encouraged by these announcements and wish the towns much success in their endeavours."