A “left behind” city region neighbourhood has missed out on £11.7m of Levelling Up funding (LUF) in what the area’s MP called a “shameful” snub from the Government.
Mike Amesbury, Labour MP for Weaver Vale, said he was "deeply disappointed" by what he called the Government's “disgraceful and iniquitous” rejection of the bid for Halton Lea in Runcorn, Halton. Mr Amesbury also contrasted Halton Lea's plight against the Prime Minister's own constituency of Richmond, which is to receive £19m.
Halton Borough Council told the ECHO the £11.7m cash would have supported the construction of 464 homes in Palacefields, funded the installation of a multi-purpose health and wellbeing hub at Shopping City, and the development of one kilometre of cycleway. A spokeswoman for the authority said the bid would have been bolstered by £1.91m of match funding and had the potential to unlock £33.6m of other local financial support, totalling around £47m.
READ MORE: Most Merseyside areas miss out on millions from government
Halton Lea was identified in a study by the Local Trust in 2020 as a “left behind” neighbourhood with low levels of public assets such as community spaces, transport links and digital connectivity, contributing to some of the worst social and economic outcomes in the country.
The area spans the Palacefields and Hallwood Park estates plus the retail district encompassing Shopping City and Trident Park, as well as Halton Hospital.
Hopes of redeveloping the area have struggled to gain momentum in recent years, with the 2016 announcement of transforming part of it into the “Halton Lea NHS Healthy New Town” not materialising as might be expected, the magistrates’ court shutting and succumbing to vandalism - even briefly becoming a cannabis farm at one point - and the stubborn “eyesore” East Lane House continuing to blight the area with dereliction despite planning permission to redevelop the site, reportedly due to a stalemate over a Section 106 agreement.
Bids for funding to dramatically redevelop Halton Hospital have also been turned down in recent years, with some more limited works taking place to expand services such as providing outpatient clinics in Shopping City.
The most prominent changes have been the ongoing conversion of vacant buildings into “permitted development” flats, plus a set of pedestrian crossings.
It’s not all been bad news for the ward, since plans were announced for Palacefields and Hallwood Park to due to undergo a £60m transformation over the next 10 years in a project undertaken by Riverside housing, but that scheme is limited to residential areas and doesn’t include the main shopping area
Reacting to the news the Halton Lea bid had been turned down, Mr Amesbury said: “I am deeply disappointed this Tory Government has chosen to turn its back on a community in desperate need of investment to deal with social, economic and health inequalities.
“Unfortunately, I am not shocked at the decision given we have a multi-millionaire Prime Minister who bragged on camera about undoing Labour formulas to shift resources out of ‘deprived urban areas’.
“And surprise, surprise, his wealthy rural constituency is to receive £19m Levelling Up funding while the Runcorn part of my constituency gets absolutely nothing.
“It’s shameful and so blatant.
“This disgraceful and iniquitous outcome gives a lie to the Government’s claim to be levelling up Britain.
“Sadly, it’s just an empty slogan.
“Only a Labour Government will deliver for working people.”
A council spokeswoman told the ECHO: "We are incredibly disappointed that Halton Lea, which contains a large area that falls within the top 10% most deprived nationally, has been overlooked in today’s announcement.
“We believe we had set out a strong case against the Government’s criteria, that sought to build a stronger and more successful neighbourhood.
“While this is undoubtedly a setback, we will continue to work with partners to explore and hopefully secure alternative funding to enable us to deliver this important programme of work."
The Government announced on Wednesday night that it had awarded £2.1bn in funding to 100 projects around the country to “create jobs and boost the economy”, including the Eden Project North in Morecambe, an AI campus in Blackpool, regeneration in Gateshead, and rail improvements in Cornwall.
Announcing the funding, 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 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 build a future of optimism and pride in people’s lives and the places they call home."
Receive our weekly Runcorn and Widnes newsletter and breaking news email alerts by signing up here.
READ NEXT:
'Loner' jailed after taking hundreds of photos of women's bottoms
M57 chaos as two separate crashes bring traffic to a standstill
Post on Rio Jones Instagram account boasts 'it was me who shot up' after schoolgirl shot
Man left £80k in debt after clicking on 'ridiculous' websites
