Rochdale council’s economy chief has hit out at the government after it overlooked a £40m bid to regenerate the borough while more affluent constituencies cashed in. Local leaders were hopeful their Levelling Up fund proposal - which would have seen £20m go to Rochdale and £10m to Heywood and Middleton respectively - would find favour with ministers.
The schemes included a new public square by Rochdale railway station and 223 homes at Central Retail Park, as well as enhancements to Heywood Civic Centre and Middleton Arena. But excitement turned to dismay after the government announced these were not among the 111 projects set to share in the second round of Levelling Up funding - a £2.1bn package intended to narrow regional inequalities and bring prosperity to ‘left behind’ areas.
With Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s Richmond constituency landing £19m and 18 areas across the south east and London also sharing in the spoils, it has come as a bitter blow to Rochdale, which has some of the country’s most deprived areas.
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Coun John Blundell, cabinet member for economy and regeneration, said he was appalled by the decision. “The fact that two-thirds of constituencies across the country were Conservative goes to demonstrate how much of a stitch up this really is,” he told the M.E.N.
"The government has utterly butchered local government budgets year on year and created this culture of The Hunger Games where people have to bid for miniscule amounts of cash and to hand out what little cash there is to Tory areas is utterly appalling."
Local authority bosses have drawn up ambitious ‘masterplans’ to transform Heywood and Middleton town centres, while the new station square and is part of its ‘rail corridor strategy’. Plans for 223 homes at Central Retail Park were passed by the council last month, but it was noted the scheme was dependent on Levelling Up monies.
However, Coun Blundell says aspirations for the borough remain undimmed - albeit funding would now need to come from a ‘different route’. “The Labour Party’s ambition for our borough has not changed but how we fund these projects has obviously changed,” he said.
