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.
