Scarborough Borough Misses Out on £20m Levelling Up Funding

The Government has handed out £2.1bn for levelling up projects but there is nothing for the Scarborough Borough.

Labour's accusing the government of operating a "Hunger Games-style contest" over a 2-point-1 billion pound levelling up fund.

Rishi Sunak's announced more than 100 projects across the UK to deliver growth and jobs.

But projects in south east England have been allocated almost twice as much as those in the north east.

A new Eden Project in Morecambe, rail links for Cardiff and Cornwall and regeneration schemes in Gateshead and Walsall are among 100 getting government funding.

But Scarborough's £20m bid for funding has been unsuccessful.

Councillor Steve Siddons, leader of Scarborough Borough Council, said:

“This is bitterly disappointing news and a massive surprise given Scarborough’s classification as a priority one area by the government’s own assessment of need.

Our borough has 85% of the most deprived population in the whole of North Yorkshire but wealthy Richmondshire, the prime minister’s constituency, gets £19 million.

“This shows the contempt this failing government displays for the people of Scarborough and Whitby.

“It is a missed opportunity and makes me wonder whether the whole point of the Levelling Up Fund is understood by ministers.

“We submitted a high-quality bid and met all the funding criteria including the required match-funding and evidence of our ability to deliver the schemes.

“The money would have allowed us progress the transformative station gateway and FabLab+ projects in the centre of Scarborough to their full potential.”

Scarborough Borough Council submitted a £20m bid for funds in July.

The application was to enable the Council to progress the delivery of its Station Gateway and Fablab+ initiatives and would have provided £12.4m of funding to go towards the redevelopment of Pavilion House as a public sector hub and £3.8m towards the redevelopment of the former Comet corner building. North Yorkshire County Council also submitted a separate bid to the Levelling Up Fund to support the transport element of the project.

• RELATED STORIES : Scarborough Borough Bids for £20m of Levelling Up Funds

The Government says that the projects will "benefit millions of people across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and create jobs and boost economic growth"

£672 million has been allocated to develop better transport links, £821 million to kick-start community regeneration and £594 million to restore local heritage sites.

A total of 111 areas have been awarded funding from the second round of the government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund. The only place in North Yorkshire to receive funding is the Prime Minister own constituency of Richmondshire where Richmondshire District Council will receive £19 million to transform Catterick Garrison town centre. This includes new routes for walking and cycling, a new town square, and a new community facility that will host new businesses and a community kitchen. 

A map on the Government's levelling up webpage (https://levellingup.campaign.gov.uk/projects-near-me/) shows where in the country the money is going and highlights the lack of projects in the Scarborough Borough and North Yorkshire in general.

The government has confirmed there will be a further round of the Levelling Up Fund, providing more opportunity to level up places across the UK.

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."

The successful bids announced today follows the allocation of £1.7 billion to 105 projects from Round 1 of the Levelling Up Fund in 2021. The government confirmed last year that Round 2 funding would match Round 1 but increased this by more than £400 million after receiving a high number of transformative bids – taking the total allocated so far from the fund to £3.8 billion.

The Government says that today’s allocations also come on top of

"significant action already taken by the government to level up communities across the country. This includes opening 7 freeports, signing 6 devolution deals, connecting 740,000 homes and business with gigabit broadband, and helping 70 community groups take ownership of their cherished pubs, clubs and local landmarks at risk of closure.

The Towns Fund has been providing funding of up £25 million, to 101 towns in order to boost local economies outside of big cities and deliver vital infrastructure."