Anger as Sandwell Council admits it did not apply for levelling up funding
Sandwell Council leaders have been accused of a “lack of preparation” after admitting they did not enter round one of the levelling up fund, which sees local towns and cities secure government cash for much-needed infrastructure projects.
The winning bids across the country for the first round of the £4.8 billion fund, were published yesterday alongside Rishi Sunak’s third Budget announcement.
Neighbouring Birmingham Council had successfully applied for funding for projects including renovations to Moseley Road Baths, Dudley Road, and the Birmingham Wheels site in Bordesley.
A Sandwell council spokesperson said: “Sandwell has had the highest funding allocation of £67.5m from the towns fund programme for 17 schemes across three towns in the borough.
“In light of the work required to ensure this source of funding is secured, Sandwell did not submit any bid for round one of the levelling up fund.
“The Government announced in March 2021 that there would be two rounds of levelling up funds and Sandwell has decided to focus on developing the business case bids in round two.”
But Nicola Richards, MP for West Bromwich East, has accused the Labour-run council of “ignoring” her email listing different projects that may have be successful entries into the levelling up fund.
She also claimed the council “didn’t know what they could spend the money on”.
Ms Richards said: “The levelling up fund is available for every single constituency in Sandwell, and it will equate to nearly £100 million for some of the most deprived communities in the country; a life-changing amount of money.
“The reason why the borough was not included in this most recent round of funding is simple in that Sandwell didn’t put in any bids in time.
“At the time, Sandwell Council said they didn’t know what they could spend the money on.
“So, I wrote in April to Councillor Maria Crompton, listing all the opportunities for projects in my constituency, but sadly it was ignored.
“I am obviously disappointed that the council has not been more proactive in applying for the fund, especially once you consider how much it is worth to communities in West Bromwich East.”
Ms Richards suggested there are “tens of projects” that the levelling up fund could have been spent on, including regeneration at Scott Arms, West Bromwich town centre, or improved transport links in Friar Park.
“So you’ll understand how deeply frustrated I am at Sandwell for not being more proactive on this. And I’m sure my colleagues will have equally strong feelings,” she added.
Ms Richards says she will be making her case to Sandwell council to get a bid secured for the final round of levelling up funds.
She said: “I do hope that they get their act together and ensure bids are submitted in a timely manner to ensure we can benefit from this opportunity.”
When asked about this, Sandwell Council reiterated its point, and added: “We have checked and we have no record of the email from Nicola Richards MP.”
In a Twitter thread, David Hallam, a former Labour member of the European Parliament (MEP) said: “Sandwell has three “red wall” Tory MPs: @Nicola4WBE, @Shaun4WBW and @JamesMorris.
“Yesterday their Chancellor dished out £1.7bn for “levelling up”. Not a penny for Sandwell.
“They prefer to talk Sandwell down, rather than speaking up for our borough.
He added: “Is the Black Country low on the list of government priorities?”
Shaun Bailey MP, West Bromwich West, said: “This fund is designed precisely for communities such as those in Sandwell, and it’s a damning indictment on the council’s priorities that they weren’t ready to go with an ambitious bid for our area.
“It is the same old story of Sandwell council’s inaction causing our communities to miss out.
“All three Conservative MPs in Sandwell have pushed for the council to provide the details of a proposed bid and nothing has been forthcoming.
“I’ll be calling on Sandwell council to urgently meet with me to discuss how we can pull together a bid for the second tranche of funding to ensure we don’t find ourselves in situation again because of the council’s lack of preparation.”
Both the levelling up fund and the towns fund are separate pots of money.
The towns fund, worth £3.6 billion, is targeted at driving economic regeneration in towns across England.
In September 2019, the Government invited 100 places to develop proposals for how they would spend money from the towns fund.
The levelling up fund, worth £4.8 billion, will invest in local infrastructure. Although managed by national government via the Treasury, the funds are available for bids across all four nations of the UK.
The Government has also given local areas a ranking between one and three, where ‘one’ areas are considered most in need of ‘levelling up’ and will be prioritised for investment from the levelling up fund.
