An access road to employment land and a new leisure centre are just two of the Staffordshire projects that could be funded through the Government's Levelling Up scheme if bids prove successful.

Local authorities across the country have been invited to bid for shares of the £4.8bn Levelling Up Fund. The scheme aims to invest in infrastructure to improve everyday life and the application deadline for the first round of bids has now closed.

In Staffordshire several district and borough councils have applied for funding on behalf of constituencies in their area.

However, Staffordshire Moorlands District Council is not yet one of them after deciding to sit out of the first round of bidding.

Staffordshire Moorlands has been ranked as a "highest priority" area, a council report stated, but it was proposed in May to sit out the first round of bidding.

The report added: "Local authorities can only have one successful bid for each MP constituency over the life cycle of the fund so councils are encouraged to consider postponing to second round so that they have more time to consider and develop their proposals. A capacity building fund of £125,000 is being awarded to support highest priority areas if they choose to submit in later rounds.

"As the council has no 'oven-ready' capital scheme that can be delivered in this financial year, which is a gateway scoring criteria and further consideration needs to be given to a shortlist of projects and undertake relevant engagement and business case development, it is proposed to not to submit an application in the first round."

Newcastle Borough Council and Stafford Borough Council have not revealed further details of their bids at this stage – although it has been confirmed the Stafford Borough application is earmarked for the Stone constituency.

Both authorities proved successful in securing slices of the Future High Streets Fund late 2020, with Newcastle Borough Council landing £11m towards Newcastle town centre and Stafford Borough Council being awarded more than £14.3m towards Stafford town centre

Cannock Chase Council is seeking £20m towards Cannock town centre and has been supported in its bid by Staffordshire County Council, Cannock Town Centre Partnership, the MP for Cannock Chase, West Midlands Combined Authority and our Local Enterprise Partnerships.

A Cannock Chase Council spokesperson said: "The council's application follows the publication of the Cannock Town Centre Development Prospectus in October 2019 which set out the council's vision to rejuvenate the town centre and create a culture and leisure `offer` to draw in footfall and activity and complement the offer at the new McArthurGlen Designer Outlet Village West Midlands."

Lichfield District Council is hoping the Levelling Up Fund will provide up to £5m towards its proposed new leisure centre. Land at Stychbrook Park has been earmarked for the facility, subject to planning permission being granted, and it would replace the existing Friary Grange Leisure Centre.

Councillor Liz Little, cabinet member responsible for major projects, said: "We've had some fantastic support in putting this bid together, including from our local MP Michael Fabricant, from local sports clubs, from other local authorities and NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups, our local enterprise partnerships and many more.

"The new leisure centre is vitally important to the future of the city and the district and represents so much more than just building. I believe our bid articulates an exciting vision, that this new facility, alongside Burntwood Leisure Centre, will become a focal point for helping increase participation in leisure and sport across our district, helping tackle health issues and creating a new hub for the community to complement existing facilities. With the Birmingham Commonwealth Games fast approaching, now is the time for us to make the case for our new leisure centre.

"The Levelling Up Fund assigns a priority level to each local authority and regrettably Lichfield has been designated as priority 3, the lowest priority for funding. However, what I hope comes through is that we are leaving no stone unturned to secure the funding needed to complete the project and that we are using it to focus our efforts on meeting the identified health and leisure priorities of the district."

South Staffordshire Council has bid for £10.4m to provide part funding for an access road to open up an allocated employment site at the former Royal Ordnance Factory site near Featherstone and next to the M54 between junctions 1 and 2.

A planning application for the access road and buildings on the land is due to be considered by South Staffordshire Council's planning committee on Tuesday, July 20.

A South Staffordshire Council spokesperson said: "Whilst the site is surrounded by the strategic road network it lacks an access onto the site from those roads and the developer is unable to fund the entire cost of the road without making the entire development unviable so the vast majority of the bid is to part fund that road.

"This in turn will unlock the development of up to 1.7 million sq ft of brand new high quality employment accommodation capable of accommodating up to (around) 2,800 gross FTE (full time equivalent) jobs within the industrial and logistics sector.

"The other part of the bid is to provide some community benefit in the local area. (This) includes the enhancement of what was to be a green buffer between the site and the village of Featherstone into a community park area accessible and usable by the public, funding towards a new children's play area in Featherstone and tree planting along the new access road from the A449 to the site to create a more 'boulevard' feel and soften the visual impact of the new road."

Like Staffordshire Moorlands District Council, East Staffordshire Borough Council is setting its sights on a future bidding round.

Deputy leader Councillor George Allen said: "I was very pleased to learn the Government is continuing to fund its commitment to level up our region and East Staffordshire would be yet again able to bid for funding.

"The deadline of 18th June 2021 was for "shovel ready" projects which had already been provisionally funded through the Towns Fund in December 2020.

"The Levelling Up Fund closes on 31st March 2024 and so we will be submitting a bid to government in the next financial year."

Tamworth Borough Council was awarded £21.65m from the Future High Streets Fund to regenerate Tamworth town centre in late 2020 but has not applied for the first round of the Levelling Up Fund.

A Tamworth Borough Council spokesperson said: "We were not classified as being in the top most authorities in terms of level of need and didn't have a project ready to go that would meet the requirements of the fund at this time, although we may submit something in future years."