The Tories have been accused of “giving up” after hundreds of communities’ pleas for extra Government cash were denied.
Fifty-five projects across the UK were awarded a share of nearly £1billion from the Government's levelling-up fund. But Labour criticised ministers for failing to explain what will happen to those areas whose bids were unsuccessful.
The Department for Levelling Up was forced to shake up its funding allocation after criticism that the last tranche was disproportionately handed to the relatively affluent South East. Rishi Sunak faced a huge backlash after his own leafy Richmond constituency in Yorkshire received a hefty cash injection in the previous round.
The Department stressed that this third round of funding is spread across all parts of Great Britain. It said the money will help spread opportunity, create jobs and revitalise local communities, with £825 million going towards regenerating high streets and £150 million towards improving transport links.
But following the announcement, Shadow Business Minister Justin Madders told the Commons: "Where does this leave the hundreds of projects that still haven't been successful? There was no mention of any future rounds in the statement. In fact, I think the minister said this was the final round of bidding, so where does that leave all the places that have been unsuccessful so far?
"What is the plan to address those communities that are crumbling, those high streets that are emptying, is this the end of any hope of levelling-up for them?" He said "this statement offers no path ahead to deal with those issues, it just rearranges the deck chairs with what has gone before", adding: "They are not levelling-up, they're giving up."
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) complained that no cash was allocated to Northern Ireland despite "hundreds of suitable applications". The party's Treasury spokesman Sammy Wilson said: "This is an outrageous act by the Government. Under the cloak of economic blackmail, the Government has syphoned money away from Northern Ireland to shore up Conservative seats in England. The Government should be honest. The real reason for this allocation is to direct more money into the marginal seats in Great Britain where the Conservative Party is struggling."
The latest projects earmarked for funding were chosen from a pool of bids that were unsuccessful in the second round, avoiding the competitive bidding process seen previously. The North West receives £128million, the North East £59million, Yorkshire and the Humber £16 million and the Midlands £171million in total, according to the levelling up department.
Allocations include £20 million to grow fishing and high-skilled sustainable jobs in Torbay, £18 million to regenerate three former mining communities in Doncaster and £15 million to upgrade Blackpool's transport network. The highest award in the funding round - £48 million - goes towards upgrading the Penistone railway line in Yorkshire.
Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said: "Levelling up means delivering local people's priorities and bringing transformational change in communities that have, for too long, been overlooked and undervalued. Today we are backing 55 projects across the UK with £1billion to create new jobs and opportunities, power economic growth and revitalise local areas. This funding sits alongside our wider initiatives to spread growth, through devolving more money and power out of Westminster to towns and cities, putting in place bespoke interventions to places that need it most, and our Long-Term Plan for Towns."
The Tories’ flagship levelling-up plan came under further criticism last week after a report by the National Audit Office said just 64 out of more than 1,300 projects have been completed while 76 were still yet to begin. It said delivery across three government funds worth up to £9.5billion is behind schedule.