Town leaders have called the decision to not award levelling-up funding to Central Kempston for a second time an “appalling decision”, with one councillor going so far as to call it a “betrayal” by the Government.
After the first bid for cash to regenerate the area was refused, a second application was made that Bedford Borough Council says took into account “feedback that we were given when our original bid was turned down”.
Read: Govt accused of ‘letting down’ Kempston after town overlooked for regeneration funding
Now, in a letter to Mayor Dave Hodgson and seen by the Bedford Independent, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Dehenna Davison MP has rejected the application.
In response, a Bedford Borough Council spokesperson told our reporter, “we are incredibly disappointed at the announcement that, for the second time, we will not be receiving Levelling Up Funding to invest in Central Kempston.
“We took on board all of the feedback that we were given when our original bid was turned down and have not been told why we have still been unsuccessful.
“We remain committed to investing in all areas of the Borough to make them great places to live, work and stay, and will be pressing for an explanation of this appalling decision from the government. We will then review our next steps and consider the option to reapply for a future round of the fund.”
Councillor Carl Meader, Deputy Leader of Bedford Borough Labour Group and Borough & Town Councillor for Kempston South said: “Having cut funding to Local Authorities by over £15bn since 2010, the Conservative Government now makes councils compete with one and other for funding.
“This in itself takes up many hours of Council Officer time, but we have to bid in the hope we will be successful, as otherwise we are guaranteed to get nothing.
“Councils need a substantial boost to their funding from Central Government, not these random and erratic schemes.
The Bedford Independent approached Bedford Borough Conservatives but they were unable to comment at this time.
We also contacted Richard Fuller, Conservative MP for North East Bedfordshire but did not receive a reply.
Elected Mayor, Dave Hodgson (Liberal Democrat) said: “The Conservative Government’s approach of cutting funding whilst offering ‘bids’ for one-off funding to councils is wrong, and their decision not to fund Kempston is wrong.
“We will be asking them to reconsider. Rejecting this exciting bid, re-drafted following a first round of feedback, makes no sense whatsoever.”
“Betrayal”
Cllr Henry Vann, Portfolio Holder for Town Centres and Planning (De Parys, Lib Dem) went even further calling the decision a betrayal.
“The Conservatives’ betrayal of Kempston is confirmed through this lack of funding,” he said, “this Government is not interested in levelling up at all, but in letting people down.”
Bedford’s Labour MP for Bedford and Kempston added his own disappointment to the news.
“I know how much time and effort was put into Bedford Borough Council’s bid to Level Up Central Kempston,” said Mohammad Yasin MP.
“[The application] is a great vision to bring much-needed regeneration to Kempston including a new health centre and investment in green transport infrastructure so it’s really disappointing to hear we’ve missed out yet again from the Government’s levelling up funding pot.”
Mr Yasin also called out the Government’s decision to give funds to areas that may not be in as much need.
“If it was judged on need, we have a clear case for Government investment but once again, the South-East are the big winner and once again, those areas most in need have lost out to wealthier areas. That’s not raising standards fairly,” he said.
“Hard-pressed councils like Bedford Borough have to spend precious time and money submitting applications, which are then rejected for no good reason.
“Bedfordshire got nothing out of the process this time. Instead of pitting communities and regions against each other, we need long-term sustained support from the Government to improve areas based on need.
“My constituents pay their taxes too so it’s not right they get nothing. So, I will continue to work with Kempston Councillors to fight to invest in and improve our great town to get the much-needed services Kempston needs including the health hub.”
In her rejection letter, Ms Davison said: “I appreciate how disappointing this news will be,” adding that “the UK Government remains firmly committed to levelling up all parts of the UK.
She declined to provide feedback on why Bedford’s application was refused again but said there will soon be another round of funding made available.
Update: This article was updated on 20 January 2023 at 11:10am. We added a quote from Councillor Carl Meader which was received before our deadline but missed. We apologise for this omission and are happy to add the quote.
