The leader of Glasgow Council has demanded an urgent meeting with UK minister Michael Gove after expressing "disappointment" that the city lost out on major funding
The city submitted bids to the Levelling Up fund including restoring the People’ Palace and regenerating Easterhouse, Possilpark, Drumchapel and Maryhill among other projects.
But the UK Government missed Glasgow off the list and instead chose other bids around Scotland this week.
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The city was successful during a previous round of funding winning £13 million to redevelop Pollok Country Park Stables and Sawmill.
In a letter to levelling up secretary, Mr Gove, Council leader Susan Aitken wrote that the latest announcement “takes the value of Levelling Up Fund projects in Scotland to £348 million."
The SNP councillor wrote: "Glasgow City, the largest local authority in Scotland with both the greatest need and opportunity, has been awarded 3.7 per cent of this funding. Had the fund been allocated on a population basis, we would have received three times as much. Had it been funded on the size of our economy, we would have received five times as much.
"Had it been funded on proportion of people living in Scotland’s most deprived communities, we would have received fifteen times as much. Nowhere offers a greater opportunity to level up than Glasgow.”
The Langside politician accused the UK Government of attempting to spread projects across the nation despite "developing a process, which identified priority areas, based on need and opportunity."
Councillor Aitken claimed: “some of the wealthiest areas of the country, such as Aberdeenshire, are being supported at the expense of those areas with far greater need.”
Her letter also mentioned how it was decided this month that the Clyde is not in line for freeport special economic area status. Instead freeports are to be created along the Firth of Forth and the Cromarty Firth.
Councillor Aitken added: “Glasgow cannot be allowed to suffer in this way, and I would once again request an urgent meeting with you to discuss how this can be addressed.”
A total of 111 areas across the UK have been awarded money from the second round of the government’s Levelling Up Fund.
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