COUNCILLORS have expressed frustration after it was revealed Dunfermline’s £5 million Levelling Up award was likely to be unrealistic.
Fife's Labour Council leader David Ross revealed on Thursday that despite “strenuous representations” to the new Labour Government, the award was "unlikely".
“We have had a call with Alex Norris MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary who is the minister dealing with this issue and the local MP regarding this funding, to make the case for at least some of this funding as requested by the new Government,” Ross said in his leader’s statement.
However, during this call he said it was made “quite clear that this was an unfunded promise of the previous government as a number of other things have been”.
“We did make strenuous representations on this and there is a promise that these will be looked at,” Ross said.
“Although, I have to say, it’s unlikely that we’ll get the full level of £5m.”
The money was originally promised to Dunfermline by the former Conservative government at Westminster in the spring. The cash boost was awarded to the city through the UK’s Levelling Up fund, which aimed to help regenerate town and city centres and high streets.
However, the funding is proposed to be withdrawn from the budget by the current Labour Government, leaving four community projects in a lurch.
Since then, City of Dunfermline councillors have been fighting for the funding, and many have expressed frustration over the situation.
“It is clear that the empty promise of £5m from the UK Tory government – and its subsequent withdrawal by the UK Labour government – is nothing short of disgraceful treatment of Scotland’s newest city,” SNP councillor Lynn Ballantyne Wardlaw said after the meeting.
Ross clarified that the funding had always been a “provisional allocation”. He said the previous Tory Government had been “quite clear on that”.
Nonetheless, Ross said his administration has made the case “for at least some of this funding” to be made to Dunfermline.
“We have made the case for the full amount, but realistically – given that it was unfunded by the previous conservative government – it is unlikely we will get anything like the full amount,” he told councillors.
Based on the comments from Ross, councillor Ballantyne Wardlaw believes “it was evident that there is no chance of the funding being provided as promised”.
