Wolverhampton will 'dust itself off' and apply again after levelling up rejections

City council leaders had applied for £40 million of Levelling Up Fund cash towards the Bilston Health and Regeneration Programme and the Springfield Innovation Hub.

But they were left "really disappointed" and shocked as they secured nothing from the £2.1 billion cash pot – open to places across the UK – in January this year.

Deputy leader Councillor Stephen Simkins, speaking at a scrutiny board meeting, said: "Just over a year ago we were named in a white paper as a priority authority with strong local leadership and ambition. And also that Wolverhampton is a place where the Government considers investments can be maximised.

“The council submitted two strong bids in round two of the Levelling Up fund, each sponsored by its area’s local MP. So we are incredibly - and I mean really, really - disappointed that we didn’t received funding for either of these bids. That was a real shock for us because of what we have advocated before from government.

“But as always, the people of Wolverhampton and Bilston will pick themselves up, dust themselves off and continue with that vision for this city in the third round. We learnt very late on that we had failed because of additional rules that said if you receive Levelling Up funding in round one, you wouldn’t receive it in round two.

“We have had some feedback from Levelling Up two but have still been increasingly upset because of all the work that was put in. Where we are now is that we will continue to champion these bids because we see them as the future of our city, especially with the green economy as that is key to the jobs that we need moving forward, and key to the housing that is needed for that corridor and the transport links."

Richard Lawrence, the council’s director of regeneration, added: “The Bilston Health and Wellbeing Hub has been designed to provide linkages into the market and the public realm, bringing parts of the town centre together and creating a healthcare campus at the heart of the community.

“In respect of the green innovation corridor, this was a project that scored highly in terms of cross-ratio benefits, linking Wolverhampton’s key assets at the university campus at Springfield with those at the science park along Stafford Road, introducing new development opportunities for the city.”