Some of Merseyside’s most deprived areas have been dealt a blow after it was revealed that they would not be receiving much needed investment from the government.
Only two Merseyside areas are set to be granted money via the Levelling Up Fund, a £5bn pot set up to invest in previously overlooked areas of the UK in need of support with infrastructural and development projects. The cash reserve is a key part of the government’s Levelling Up agenda which helped deliver the Conservative’s landslide victory in 2019.
Local authorities are able to bid for investment, with government officials deciding where the money will be allocated. The Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has now announced the successful bids for the second round of investment.
READ MORE: Two Merseyside towns and two different 'Levelling Up' realities
Fifteen projects in the north west will receive an injection of cash, with Halewood one of the Merseyside areas to get the government’s backing. The Knowsley town will receive £15m to improve transport, sport and leisure facilities.
St Helen's council will receive £20m to invest in Earlestown’s historic market square. The money will also be used to reimagine the derelict Town Hall as a new community hub and workspace.
A total of £350m has been awarded to projects situated in the north west. £35m of this total went to Merseyside bids, with the largest single sum of £50m going to Morecambe to transform the seafront into an Eden by the Bay.
All other bids submitted by local Merseyside authorities have been knocked back. This includes Liverpool Council’s bid for funding to improve the West Everton area, in particular Great Homer Street Market.
Another Liverpool Council bid focused on Paddington Village, but was also unsuccessful. Wirral Council had been hoping to breathe new life into Liscard town centre but will now have to look elsewhere for the £12m it required.
Sefton’s bid centring on the Bootle Strand canal-side project has also been overlooked. So to have plans to help regenerate Huyton Village centre, but Knowsley Council has at least had backing for its Halewood development.
In the first round of funding, announced in October 2021, areas like Birkenhead and Liverpool waterfront were successful in securing around £20m each to go towards transformational projects. However, Bootle and Crosby in Sefton saw its bids knocked back, with Huyton in Knowsley also unsuccessful despite being seen as an area most in need for support.
Commenting on the outcome of Liverpool's bids, Mayor of Liverpool Joanne Anderson said: “I’m disappointed that the two Levelling Up bids we presented were not chosen for funding. The submitted projects at Great Homer Street Market and Paddington Village were of the highest quality and would have made a real difference in some of the most deprived communities in the country.
“Over the past 12 years of Tory governments, Liverpool has suffered some of the highest levels of cuts to local funding. If this government is serious about tackling regional inequality, they need to provide local authorities with the resources that empower us to deliver improvements. Otherwise levelling up is just an empty, rhetorical slogan.
“Significant work has gone into these projects and despite this setback we will continue to look for other opportunities to secure funding to secure the improvements our residents deserve.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak 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 a number of projects with new transformational funding to level up local communities in the North West. By reaching even more parts of the country than before, we will build a future of optimism and pride in people’s lives and the places they call home.”
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: “We are firing the starting gun on more than a hundred transformational projects in every corner of the UK that will revitalise communities that have historically been overlooked but are bursting with potential.
“This new funding will create jobs, drive economic growth, and help to restore local pride. We are delivering on the people’s priorities, levelling up across the UK to ensure that no matter where you are from, you can go as far as your talents will take you.”
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