Levelling up grants rejected in northern cities

Major infrastructure projects have been awarded across southern England, dismissing bids that were put forward by local authorities in the North.

Yesterday, Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove distributed a share of £2.1bn to local authorities in a bid to boost economies.

Three councils were found to be successful candidates, and these are located in Berkshire, Dorset, and Hampshire. The money received will include funding for Weymouth Harbour, Southampton’s Outdoor Sports Centre, and Reading’s Hexagon Theatre.

However, although the government has set out that they intend to boost local economies across England by 2030, there is an implied north/south divide.

Speaking on the funding that was announced yesterday, Cllr James Lewis, Leader of Leeds City Council, claimed it is ‘incredibly disappointing’ that no funding was awarded to Leeds despite the efforts that were put into well-constructed bids.

Mr Lewis said: ‘This is incredibly disappointing as we put enormous effort into high-quality, well-constructed bids with an imaginative approach to linking up existing funding and opportunities in a way that would benefit the whole of Leeds.

‘The focus was on breathing new life into parks, transport infrastructure and local economies across the city’s six parliamentary constituencies that have not yet received levelling up or towns deal funding.

‘The benefits would not only have been felt in our most deprived communities, but also would have positively impacted economic growth, health and wellbeing and quality of living across all areas of the city.’

Additionally, at the beginning of 2023, research displayed more than £27m had been spent on bids for levelling up funding, but dozens of councils continued to be missed by the government.

The research that was completed by NationalWorld, a UK news agency, displayed local authorities in the North of England were less likely to receive funding despite spending millions creating proposals for it.

However, speaking on his decision yesterday, Michael Gove said providing funding to the three authorities in the south will be ‘transformational’. He said: ‘This new funding will create jobs, drive economic growth, and help to restore local pride’.

Tom Stannard, Chair of the Institute of Economic Development (IED), has also said: ‘This announcement has provoked discussion about those regions receiving the funding, with ‘North v South’ headlines around the South East getting more regeneration money than the North East, Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

‘In general, we welcome the commitment to funding following on from Round 1 and in anticipation of Round 3. Inevitably there are winners and losers, but what we want to see is longer term certainty, revenue investment and devolution alongside capital and also reducing micro-competitions with long wait times attached.’

Overall the Levelling Up fund is worth £4.8bn across the UK and lasts for over four years. Mr Stannard remarks after Mr Gove distribute money to projects yesterday there is £1bn left. Now the IED is calling for the government to think about how the funding can be best prioritised.