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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Thomas Molloy

Levelling Up: Mapped - how much cash is being allocated to each area of the UK

The North West is the biggest beneficiary of the second round of Levelling Up funding, with £354m of the £2.1bn government pot being pledged to the area.

However, the North East has got the lowest share in England, receiving £108.5m. The second lowest is Yorkshire and the Humber (£120.6m). Meanwhile, the South East will benefit to the sum of £210.5m - with London set to receive £151.3m.

One of just six projects to get funding in Yorkshire is in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's constituency of Richmond - which has been awarded more than £19 million for the regeneration of Catterick Garrison town centre - including new routes for walking and cycling, a new town square, and a new community facility that will host new businesses, as well as a community kitchen.

READ MORE : Every Greater Manchester project getting Levelling Up cash in round two - as MP slams 'Hunger Games-style contest'

Based purely on population, Wales is the biggest winner with the country getting £208.2m (£67 per person) - compared to just over £48 per person in the North West, £41 in the North East and £22 in Yorkshire. Scotland will get £177.2m (£32 per person), and Northern Ireland will receive £71.m (£37 per head).

In the East Midlands £176.9m has been allocated (£37 per head) compared to £155.6m in the West Midlands (£26 per person). The South West has been promised £186.7m (£33 per person) and the East of England is set to get £165.9m (£27 per head).

The successful bids announced today (Wednesday, January 18) follows the allocation of £1.7bn to 105 projects in the UK from round one of the Levelling Up Fund in 2021. Mr Sunak described the funding as "transformational". He said: “Through greater investment in local areas, we can grow the economy, create good jobs and spread opportunity everywhere.

“That’s why we are backing more than 100 projects with new transformational funding to level up local communities across the United Kingdom. By reaching even more parts of the country than before, we will buil a future of optimism and pride in people’s lives and the places they call home.”

Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt added: "This is a major down payment on local jobs, growth and regeneration, all part of our mission to level up opportunity across the country. To unlock more growth right across the country, we are making it easier for locally-elected leaders to make things happen without banging on a Whitehall door by extending devolution deals to all areas of England that want them by 2030."

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt (Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire)

However, Shadow Levelling Up Secretary and MP of Wigan, Lisa Nandy slammed the Levelling Up Fund and compared it to the dystopian 'Hunger Games'. She said: "The Levelling Up Fund is in chaos, beset by delays and allegations of favouritism.

"15 months after the first round of allocations, just 5pc of the money has made it to the communities who were promised it. And despite today’s announcement, communities across the country are still paying a Tory premium for the last 13 years. It takes an extraordinary arrogance to expect us to be grateful for a partial refund on the money they have stripped out of our communities, which has decimated vital local services like childcare, buses and social care.

"It is time to end this Hunger Games-style contest where communities are pitted against one another and Whitehall ministers pick winners and losers. That’s why Labour has set out plans for the biggest ever transfer of power out of Westminster, so local leaders can harness the skills and assets in their area to drive growth, and all people in all parts of Britain are given the backing to make a contribution.”

In Greater Manchester, the boroughs of Wigan, Trafford and Oldham have all been successful in bids, to the tune of around £60m.

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