Bolton Council hears levelling up bids to be 'replaced'

In recent years, Bolton has won major bids for multimillion pound projects including the new £40M Bolton College of Medical Sciences and £20M funding for the town centre.

But these came as part of the previous government’s levelling up programme, which is now set to change after the change in government at the last election.

Addressing a meeting of Bolton Council, leader Cllr Nick Peel said: “I think what we will see from the new government is immediately a change in attitude towards its relationship with local councils as well as a much less competitive bidding process and having to fill in forms.

“That’s already a clear commitment that the bidding process will be replaced.”

The fund could be used for a range of town centre projects (Image: Bolton Council)

Cllr Peel had been speaking as part of a council cabinet meeting called to discuss demands from the last government for a “productivity plan” justifying the authority’s spending.

The plan was roundly criticised, given that it had come in the wake of years of spending cuts the borough had endured.

But the meeting also heard criticisms of the outgoing government’s handling of how levelling up funds were given out.

Last month, Cllr Peel told The Bolton News that a £20M fund granted as part of the last round of levelling up funding aimed at transforming the town centre was still likely to be a reality.

This will be used for projects like redeveloping the town hall and creating a new hotel on Le Mans Crescent.

But at the time he said he hoped that in the long-term levelling up would be replaced by plans focused less on building projects and more on factors like employment.

He also said he hoped councils would not be expected to bid against each other in the same way in future.

Addressing the most recent meeting of Bolton Council’s cabinet, Cllr Peel confirmed that he understood the bidding process would indeed be replaced.

The newly elected Labour government has now removed “levelling up” from the name of the former Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

It has now reverted to its former identity as the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.

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New deputy prime minister Angela Rayner, who will oversee the ministry said that this would mean “no more gimmicks and slogans, but the hard yards of governing in the national interest.”

But the Conservatives have argued that towns like Bolton have been transformed all over the country by the previous government’s levelling up plans.

A party spokesperson said: “The Conservative levelling up agenda has been transformative for towns across the country, giving communities that Labour took for granted when they were last in office the investment they deserve.

“Labour’s decision to scrap levelling up will be a disaster for these towns, and their refusal to rule out clawing back £1billion of Conservative funding from local communities for Labour politicians to spend in Westminster puts the future of our communities at risk.”