High Peak Labour Council have messed up yet again, costing High Peak badly needed Levelling Up funding.
High Peak Labour Council's funding bid was assessed by independent civil servants on a range of criteria and scored poorly on the measures used to prioritise funding applications.
The Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities released official feedback on the reasons officials previously rejected High Peak Borough Council’s £20 million bid to the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.
Independent officials were concerned about the lack of detailed costs, timelines, and whether the Council had secured the relevant planning permission. As a result, the bid was not even shortlisted for ministerial approval, with officials concluding: “The lack of detailed designs, outstanding formal consents and an agreed land deal for the leisure centre site" represented too great a risk for taxpayers.
The Department officials advised the Council of the need to appoint “design teams to work up planning applications and to undertake early construction company engagement” to confirm the project’s final cost. In the process, “more detail” was also required on the “monitoring and evaluation” of the project to ensure value for money and timeliness.
Similarly, the Council’s Net Zero and low carbonisation plans were criticised as they "lacked detail.”
Concerns were also raised about the Council’s failure to consult with local residents or include their views in the final bid, particularly regarding the closure of Glossop swimming pool in Howard Park.
This follows the Council’s failure to submit a bid to the first round of funding back in June 2021.
Despite meeting with the Council on multiple occasions and consistently chasing them, Robert Largan MP was excluded from key decisions and did not receive a copy of the Council’s full bid until just a few days before the extended final deadline.
The Government provided more than £100,000 to help High Peak Borough Council develop a Levelling Up Fund bid. It is still unclear how much of this money has actually been spent by the Council.
Even though they were given clear feedback about the shortcomings of their bid, the Labour Council appears to have made no effort to try and improve their bid, including failing to carry out pretty basic steps such as consulting local residents on their plans.
Commenting, Robert Largan MP said:
The sad truth is that Labour failed to do their homework. This was an historic opportunity for High Peak. It has sadly been squandered by Labour’s incompetence yet again.
However, I am not giving up. Where the Council have failed, I'm stepping in with extensive negotiations with Ministers to make the case for further investment in High Peak.
As I've shown when it comes to the Mottram Bypass, the Hope Valley line upgrade, the £10million Buxton Future High Street Fund, Glossopdale School expansion, the reinstatement of the breast cancer screening unit, the £47million for local buses and my High Peak Jobs & Apprenticeships Fair, I know how to get things done for our area.
Labour might have given up on High Peak. I never will!
