Funding bids totalling £40million are to be made to regenerate two coastal towns - breathing new life into the communities and boosting business.

The bids of up to £20m each will be made for Clacton and Harwich to remove eyesores, help tackle housing needs, support up-and-coming businesses, and provide community facilities.

Tendring District Council’s (TDC) cabinet has decided to submit proposals to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund for the two towns.

The Clacton proposal includes projects to redevelop Carnarvon House and the neighbouring library to provide new homes, start-up business units, a new library and Adult Community Learning Centre.

Meanwhile, the bid for Harwich and Dovercourt is based around the Dovercourt Masterplan Revisited, adopted in 2019, and includes proposals to redevelop the Milton Road car park, refurbishment of Harwich library, and public realm improvements from Dovercourt station to Kingsway.

Cabinet also agreed to allocate £2.3m towards match-funding for the bids, signalling TDC’s commitment to the projects.

TDC leader Neil Stock OBE said the bids offered a real opportunity to grow the economies of both town centres.

He said: “If successful, these projects will enable us to replace eyesore sites with developments that help to tackle housing need, support up-and-coming businesses, provide community facilities for all of our residents, as well as improving the street scene.

“We have consistently entered really strong bids and historically been successful in attracting government funding for Tendring – in recognition of the huge potential and opportunity we have here. It is a highly competitive process, but by submitting these bids we are flying the flag for our district.

“Having seen some of the debate about the bids on social media, I would remind people that the council has no control over what shops or restaurants are brought into towns. However, by improving infrastructure and by making positive investment as these bids will, if successful, we can create an environment which then encourages further private investment.”

The council received positive feedback from Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) officials on an initial bid for Clacton in round one of funding.