QUESTIONS remain unanswered after Tameside missed out on £36 million of Levelling Up money meant for Stalybridge and Denton.
Chiefly, a simple one – why?
Tameside Council put in its application for government funds from the £4.8 billion pot
Among plans for Stalybridge were £9.2 million worth of remediation and re-provision of existing surface car parking on brownfield land, which the authority said, ‘unlocks the sites for future residential development and helps to facilitate further private sector investment.’
Also proposed were £8 million of public realm improvements, improved pedestrian and cycle routes and access to public transport.
Repair works to the Civic Hall – particularly its roof – would cost £1.5 million while it was also hoped £1.3 million of work can be done at Astley Cheetham Art Gallery to enhance the provision and accessibility of the art gallery and library.
Highlights of the Denton submission included further capital investment for Festival Hall and Denton Town Hall to provide enabling infrastructure that makes best use of the council’s estate.
That would have seen £2 million going towards improvements to Festival Hall to enable relocation of further council services into Denton town centre and creation of a ‘neighbourhood hub’.
A further £1 million would have gone towards improving Denton Town Hall so it can be used more in future.
The authority has been awarded almost £2 million to improve public realm and greenspaces and support cultural activities following a successful proposal to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF).
It says priorities include Stalybridge Civic Hall and work in Hyde and Ashton to support levelling up and master planning projects, while funding will be used to deliver a programme of cultural activities within parks and countryside as well as supporting projects across council-owned parks and countryside sites including repairs to existing footpaths, play equipment for young people with disabilities, cycle parking in parks and replacement town centre litterbins.
But when the Levelling Up announcement of successful bids was made, Tameside was missing – leading to an angry reaction.
However, The Correspondent’s request to find out what that failure now means for the schemes mentioned has so far not been answered.
Equally, a chance to defend its actions after accusations the submissions were ‘weak’ has also not been responded to by Tameside Council.
In a statement, Tameside Council leader, Cllr Ged Cooney, said: “The news that Stalybridge and Denton have been unable to access a share of the £2.1 billion government levelling up money comes as no surprise. It’s a very expensive postcode lottery with no transparency.
“As leader of Tameside Council, I remain committed to supporting the residents of Stalybridge and Denton despite this setback by this government and we will continue to bid for funds to restore our town centres despite this government’s fiscal incompetence, which has made us all poorer.”
Andrew Gwynne, MP for Denton and Reddish constituency described the latest funding announcement as the ‘final nail in the coffin of the government’s levelling-up agenda’.
In the House of Commons, he even suggested something more was behind the decision, saying: “The round one bid for Reddish to refurbish Reddish Baths into a new business hub was rejected.
“The round two bid for Denton town centre refurbishing the Festival Hall into a new community bub and regenerating Denton town centre was rejected.
“The minister says that councils should waste more money on a round three bid when clearly this government has got something against Denton and Reddish.
“Why should Tameside or Stockport Council’s waste officer time when it’s clear that if af first you don’t succeed, fail, fail and fail again?”
He added: “The whole thing is a joke, and I’m beyond angry that yet again local people have been let down.”
The Department for Levelling Up told The Correspondent it would not go into the specifics of why these bids failed.
But a spokesman said: “All projects were subject to a rigorous assessment process under robust, fair and transparent rules, with no involvement of local MPs in the selection process.”