Sefton Council has hit out at the government for placing it in the same category as the likes of the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in its pursuit of Levelling Up funding.
The council has urged ministers and civil servants to look over the categorisation of the borough, with Bootle being one of the most deprived areas in the UK and the borough being placed in the lowest priority category for funding. This means that the area of Merseyside will be judged alongside the likes of the City of London, Cambridge and Windsor.
The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and the City of London are both ranked in the top 20 most prosperous areas in the UK according to the think-tank Legatum Institute, with Sefton ranked 263rd. The council's bid is centred around Bootle and Crosby, with the local authority looking for £30.3m to regenerate the areas and tackle deprivation as well as support the creation of investment and job opportunities in the areas.
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The council would like to use £20m of the funds to fund a major regeneration scheme to transform the centre of Bootle, with The Bootle Strand being at the heart of the plans as transforming a large amount of unused land alongside the Liverpool-Leeds canal. The remaining £10.3m would be used to regenerate Crosby town centre and support the ambitions of the local community.
An increase in amenities such as a well-being hub with a library, as well as a GP/community health care and a place for people to work and develop skills would be at the centre of the Levelling Up bid for Crosby.
Sefton Council Leader, Cllr Ian Maher said: “Our bids contain exciting ambitious and realistic plans of what can be sustainably achieved with support through the Levelling Up Fund. As its name suggests this funding is for the purposes of levelling up, which is why we have focused on Bootle and Crosby where levels of deprivation are at their highest and people are suffering most from the current economic climate.
“We are fortunate in that we have already secured £37.5million of Town Deal funding for Southport, which we are using to support our delivery of a range of large-scale projects to regenerate the town and its surroundings. These bids now focus on parts of the Borough which have the greatest need, some of which are among the areas hardest hit in the country by the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Bootle MP Peter Dowd said: “Bootle town centre’s economy has been severely impacted by Covid-19 and the relocation of HMRC, and includes one of the country’s most deprived areas in terms of health, employment, income education and skills. There is a pressing need for significant intervention to break the spiral of decline and Sefton Council’s decision to acquire Bootle Strand and put it at the heart of the town’s transitional regeneration programme is a brave and ambitious step.
“With support from the Government through the Levelling Up Fund, this project will act as a catalyst for change and will help provide support at the heart of the local community.”
Sefton Central MP Bill Esterson said: “Sefton includes some of the country’s most deprived areas. Crosby has significant strengths and could, with the scale of Levelling Up funding requested, become an even more successful place where people can live, work, be educated and spend their leisure time.
“I urge Ministers and officials to give full consideration to this proposal, which could deliver transformational change and address many issues of deprivation and decline. It would offer support to the local community where it is needed most and help aid economic recovery and resilience, which is what the people of Sefton deserve.”
Cllr Maher added: “We were disappointed at the recent Government announcement that Sefton would, once again, be assessed in the lowest Category 3 for the Levelling Up Fund.
“This put us on a par with areas such as Windsor, Cambridge and the City of London.
“However, I am urging Ministers and Department of Levelling Up officials to see beyond these broad criteria, take a close look at the specific problems we are facing and work with us to address them to create opportunities for the people and businesses of Sefton.”
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