To think the Northern towns deserve "levelling up"

[EricBartholomew]

It's been a good news day in that the levelling up fund has now been distributed and announced. Today on the radio I've heard much disappointment from those who weren't afforded funding (in Leeds and certain areas in Liverpool, other cities).

AIBU to be pleased that the biggest lump of cash is going to somewhere like Morecambe and not a city or a town of the fringes of a city? They already benefit from the wealth there and the investment that comes with it.

There has been a feeling of being "left to rot" in some of these towns for so long that we have nothing but our communities pulling together. I'm so pleased that there is hope (and funding) today for the beautiful Morecambe Bay and other towns that have got levelling up funding. It's well deserved.

But far more importantly, this is not levelling up, this is charity. Levelling up means creating industry and economic growth through ongoing inward investment in a part of the country so it gets really good at some form for commerce. Think tech hubs like silicone valley, or car manufacturing hubs like Bavaria

this ^^

proper jobs paying proper wages

Don't get me wrong I think Eden Project north will be good - but I'm 3 hours from it as opposed to 6 for the one in Cornwall so it's great for a visitor but I doubt I'd be staying long in Morecambe. I've been, it was shit, like loads of towns in England.

Leveling up is a loads of bollocks - a tiny sticky plaster next to a gaping wound. No one cares about a shiny project if your town is failing, your local school is falling down, you've lost all your GPs so have to use locums, your bus service is down to one an hour.... The government could do something decent with this money but they don't because they don't want to change a system that profits them and their friends.

Public investment should be spread fairly across the country, not funnelled into pet projects for government ministers. Levelling Up should beneift left behind areas, not the richer ones.

Yet Rishi Sunak has form for taking money from deprived areas and giving it to comfortable ones. He boasts about it:

Here in Nottinghamshire, four local consituencies will benefit from Levelling Up money. All Conservative. Nothing for the Labour city, which is crying out for investment in its central Brodmasrh area.

In the wider East Midlands, there's money for Rutland, one of the richer areas of the region. Conservative MP, of course.

It's corrupt and it stinks.

"I doubt I'd be staying long in Morecambe. I've been, it was shit, like loads of towns in England."

Yes, well the hope is that it will be a lot less shit next time you come and you'll want to stay 🤣

I like Morecambe, it’s really nice in the summer I live less than an hours drive away so we go quite often for day trips. Personally I can’t wait for something like the Eden Project to open as getting to the other one is nigh on impossible at the moment (7+ hour drive = no thanks). I also think it will bring in a lot of visitors which will only lead to more investment.

That said it’s going to take a very long time for the town to see significant improvement and relying on one investment to kick start the local economy is foolish thinking and a recipe for disaster unless managed properly. Morecambe really is rather run down in places and has a high crime rate (actually the third most dangerous place to live in Lancs) and is more know for negative things than it’s nice architecture and beaches (mention the beach and the reply is often ‘isn’t that where all the cockle pickets died?’). Lots of things need to be fixed before it can see it’s heyday again.

We are in Dorset and there's significant pockets of deprivation. I agree that there is a vast difference between the south east and the south west.

I'm glad my town has received some funding.

You do need things to draw people to area. People spend and that then feeds into area.

It’s tough though. I grew up in a place that really put effort into becoming an attraction in many ways and it’s worked but it takes a while. The town where my family is is thriving more so than a couple of decades ago

Other than a few bits of the south east, the whole country needs levelling up. Plenty of poor bits down south too, specially food and healthcare deserts like Norfolk and Cornwall. This government don't give a shit though, they want to make a few new shiny tourist destinations, and forget about stagnant wages, lack of investment and infrastructure for the bulk of the country who are struggling. This is another silly little vanity project for the government, not tackling the very real cost of living, housing and healthcare issues, stagnant wages and public sector strikes, let's invest in a giant garden.

@Cuppasoupmonster I think the greatest number of Johnson/Tory voters emanated from the midlands and the south. Isn't Cornwall mainly Tory ?

"relying on one investment to kick start the local economy is foolish thinking and a recipe for disaster unless managed properly."

Yes I agree with that statement but I don't think Morecambe is relying on that one investment. There has been slow but noticeable change over the last few years, in the summer it's booming on festival weekends. Just check out the prices at the midland for vintage festival for example.

Morecambe sparkle have been working hard to get the lights back (hope the February weather is kind to them as last year it was storms).

The kite festival returns year on year, the viking festival is back again and Morecambe music festival is bigger than ever. The vintage bus day, Bradford car rally, comic con, the punk festival. All have been committed to continuing to come here and they bring big visitor numbers.

If we could keep this level of energy and interest up through winter then things can really start to change and businesses will see the benefit of those visitor numbers. That's what is exciting about the Eden project. It will attract year round tourism.

Some places in the south east could do with it , Dover is a bit of a dump and the area they want to regeneratate could do with it , Sheppey is quite deprived , but Canterbury already has nice places to sit .

@Cuppasoupmonster the opportunities for young people in Bolton or Rochdale or Barnsley are pitiful. The houses are cheap for a reason.
Sorry but you haven't got a clue.

😂 you think there are less facilities and jobs in parts of Manchester than there are in Bodmin? Dream on!

OP I am a Morecambe resident and I am over the moon about the funding, I totally agree that there has been a noticeable increase in investment in the area since since Eden has been on the cards. Yes there is still lots to do but I feel that the allocation of this funding will accelerate the town. I'm really excited

Plenty of towns like that aren't in the north. I live in one in the south west but it seems like money for the south west passes us by on it's way to Cornwall.

To be fair, eight of the 11 parliamentary constituencies in Nottinghamshire are conservative so it’s more likely that they will receive funding. You’d also need to compare the successful and successful bids and where they came from to draw any meaningful comparisons.

Morecambe has the potential to be absolutely stunning and it would benefit so many of us to have more pleasant places to visit within an hour or so drive.
My home town is in desperate need of money but got nothing so I am really disappointed. Rishi is a snake oil salesman but at least he looks like he wants to do something, unlike that monster who was in the post for a few weeks before him.

Hi @EdenNorth 👋🏼 🌊

Haven't we got good usernames?

I'm really excited too, there's such a positive community here, despite the problems we have.

That it's going to be a concert venue too is brilliant. I'll be able to walk home afterwards!

Nothing for Huddersfield. Very disappointing, if there's one town in desperate need of levelling up it's there.

Yes, that's the offical line, I'm sure.

Nottingham ranks as the 11th most deprived out of England’s 317 districts.

Richmondshire, in North Yorkshire, is 256th.

Nottingham (3 Labour MPs, Labour council) received £0 in the latest round of levelling up funding. Richmondshire (independent council, 1 Conservative MP (Rishi Sunak) received £19m.

Even if the Richmondshire scheme is extremely deserving (and I accept there are lots of projects across the country that deserve public money), how can giving money to the richest areas but not the poorest areas help "Levelling Up"?

They should have invested in Northern transport. Our trains are a joke. I want to travel from Sheffield to Manchester on a Sunday. I darent take the train….

Sheffield’s bus service has been halved overnight due to cuts.A bid was put in for this and failed. So now it’s cars everywhere.

The North needs to be connected like all the suburbs and commuter towns of London. Manchester is 28 miles from me. The only reliable way is via car ( on shit roads) Imagine that in London. I don’t think that’s even the distance from West to East London.

All the big northern cities like Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Bradford etc etc need connecting.

In China they can do a 2 1/2 train journey in 20 minutes. We haven’t even got any fucking trains.

The bus to my local town growing up was every 2 hours and only between 8am and 5pm, then stopped. And no weekend service.

Agree that the journey from Sheffield to Manchester is awful, even by car. Can't decide which I dislike more, Woodhead or Snake pass.

No direct trains to Manchester Airport anymore either.

I could not agree with you more.

"The bus to my local town growing up was every 2 hours and only between 8am and 5pm, then stopped. And no weekend service."

Right. And what has that got to do with a 20 mile journey between 2 major cities? Absolutely nothing.

We get it, you live in the sticks, your transport is dire and things are far away. That said, I've just dropped 10 random pins across Bodmin on Google earth and it looks lovely. Well looked after, a nice healthy environment. Manicured gardens, pretty town centre, bungalow after tidy bungalow.

Drop 10 random pins on Morecambe or Bradford and you might get what I mean.