Hyndburn will not receive any of the £830m Future high streets funding, there to help protect and create thousands of jobs as part of the levelling up agenda.

The Government made the annoucement on Boxing Day saying that “The investment is to support areas to recover from the pandemic and help transform underused town centres into vibrant places to live, work and shop.”

So why not Hyndburn?  Do our businesses not matter?  Do our jobs not matter? Do our towns not matter?

This decision is embarrassing for the newly formed Tory ‘levelling up’ group of which our MP is a member and calls into question the groups existence.  If Tory MPs do not have confidence in their own government to deliver for us then why should we?

The group formed to remind the Prime Minister and the Government of their committment to the levelling up agenda and has delivered absolutely nothing for Hyndburn or Lancashire.  Is “Levelling up” is merely another vacuous slogan?

The cuts implemented over a decade of Tory rule have devastated many parts of the country including Hyndburn. This must be the starting point for any serious discussion on levelling up, after years of the Conservatives driving the country down.

Tackling regional inequality and investing in people and places that need it most does not align with any of Tories recent policies.

Over the summer the Department of Education allowed an algorithm they knew would discriminate against successful students from poorer areas to adjudicate on examination results (before U-turning under pressure).

It took a campaign from footballer Marcus Rashford to force the government to reconsider its decision to scrap free school meals during the pandemic with our local members stepping up to help and support.  This decision led to the widespread condemnation of our MP, Sara Britcliffe who voted against the decision to feed vulnerable children.

The recent publication of reforms to the planning system was met with sceptiscism and contradicts the governments committment to levelling up.

Statistics show that the poorest areas of England are four times as likely to face lockdown as the richest following the disastrous attempt to set up a functioning test and trace system.

Accrington Town Centre recently received a visit from Sir John Timpson, arranged by Amazing Accrington.   It was Sir John Timpson who recommended the government set up the Town Centre Task Force; the Future High Streets Fund; and short term measures to help high streets and town centres.  If Sir John’s visit cannot convince the government to support and invest in us what more do we have to do.

Relevant articles: Towns Fund Scandal

Fifteen areas across England have been awarded a confirmed £255 million from the Future High Streets Fund. A further 57 areas have received a provisional funding offers totalling up to £576 million and we will be working with them to finalise their proposals.

The 15 places who are receiving full funding are:

1. Tamworth Town Centre – Tamworth, £21,652,555
2. Sunderland City Centre – Sunderland, £25,000,000
3. Sutton – Sutton, £11,346,704
4. Bishop Auckland – Durham, £19,856,853
5. Blyth Town Centre – Northumberland, £11,121,059
6. Kidderminster – Wyre Forest, £20,510,598
7. Old Kent Road – Southwark, £9,605,854
8. Swindon – Swindon, £25,000,000
9. Stockport – Stockport, £14,500,000
10. Winsford – Cheshire West and Chester, £9,980,000
11. Sheffield High Street – Sheffield, £15,817,001
12. Blackfriars, Northern City Centre – Worcester, £17,939,000
13. Birkenhead – Wirral, £24,581,011
14. Brierley Hill High Town Centre – Dudley, £9,985,689
15. Stretford – Trafford, £17,605,674

The 57 places receiving provisional funding offers are:

1. Leamington Town Spa, Warwick (Warwickshire) – £10,015,121
2. Nuneaton Town Centre, Nuneaton and Bedworth (Warwickshire) – £13,362,736
3. Wolverhampton City Centre – £15,760,196
4. Walsall – £11,439,967
5. Newcastle-Under-Lyme – £11,048,260
6. Stafford – £14,377,723
7. Tottenham, Haringey – £10,019,648
8. Woolwich Town Centre, Greenwich – £17,150,964
9. Wealdstone, Harrow – £7,448,583
10. Putney Town Centre, Wandsworth – £1,058,706
11. Elland Town Centre, Calderdale (West Yorkshire) – £6,310,812
12. Northallerton, Hambleton (North Yorkshire) – £6,085,013
13. Rotherham – £12,660,708
14. Halifax – £11,762,823
15. Barnsley Towns Centre – £15,624,456
16. Scunthorpe – £10,675,323
17. New Ferry, Wirral – £3,213,523
18. Wigan – £16,633,691
19. Crewe – £14,148,128
20. Rochdale (Greater Manchester) – £17,080,458
21. Farnworth, Bolton (Greater Manchester) – £13,306,817
22. Oldham – £10,750,237
23. Kirkham Town Centre, Fylde – £6,290,831
24. Maryport Town Centre, Allerdale – £11,527,839
25. Carlisle City Centre – £9,129,874
26. Plymouth City Centre – £12,046,873
27. Barnstable, North Devon – £6,548,876
28. Newton Abbot, Teignbridge – £9,199,364
29. Paignton, Torbay – £13,363,248
30. Kingswood, South Gloucestershire – £12,555,464
31. Salisbury City Centre – £9,355,731
32. Penzance, Cornwall – £10,403, 112
33. Trowbridge, Wiltshire – £16,347,056
34. Yeovil – £9,756,897
35. Taunton, Somerset – £13,962,981
36. Loftus, Redcar and Cleveland – £5,833,628
37. Middlesbrough Centre – £14,170,352
38. Stockton – £16,543,812
39. South Shields – £5,959,187
40. Derby City Centre, St Peters Cross – £15,034,398
41. Sutton-in-Ashfield (Nottinghamshire) – £6,279,872
42. Grantham, South Kesteven (Lincolnshire) – £5,558,818
43. Grimsby (North East Lincolnshire) – £17,280,917
44. Nottingham City Centre, West End Point – £12,523,981
45. Heanor, Amber Valley – £8,592,837
46. Northampton – £8,442,730
47. Buxton, High Peak – £6,608,223
48. Dover Town Centre and Waterfront – £3,202,226
49. Newhaven, Lewes – £5,004,939
50. Chatham Town Centre, Medway – £9,497,720
51. Ramsgate, Thanet – £2,704,213
52. Commercial Road, Portsmouth (Hampshire) – £3,122,375
53. Fratton, Portsmouth – £3,858,489
54. High Wycombe – £11,886,876
55. St Neots, Huntingdonshire – £3,748,815
56. March High Street, Fenland – £6,447,129
57. Great Yarmouth – £13,774,430