The losers have dominated the conversation
In competitions, there are always winners and losers. Since the Government announced this week which areas of the UK it would be pouring millions into, it is the losers that seem to have dominated the conversation.
As many political and business leaders have pointed out, the economic potential of this project is enormous. This isn't simply about making Nottingham more aesthetically pleasing, this is about bringing employment, investment and environmentalism to the heart of one of the region's most important cities.
We're certainly not shy of a good contest in this country, but the kind of competition that the Government has been running is now leaving a sour taste. If we're to think about this debate under the terms by which the Levelling Up Fund is operated, then to argue that Nottingham should have received millions this week is to argue that Worksop, Mansfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Kimberley should not have.
For a start, according to 2019 data, one area of the town was amongst the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. No matter its current political representation, Worksop is surely a hugely deserving recipient of Government money. It is our local authorities packed with people who know their communities inside out who are surely the best placed to make such drastic calls on major infrastructure. The Government has indeed shown much understanding of this recently, with its promise of more powers and money under the East Midlands devolution deal. But in terms of local authority funding, Nottingham City Council says that households in its area have lost almost £700 in total of national funding on average since 2010.
But as pointed out at the beginning, the Levelling Up Fund is a contest and that means there has to be losers. When councils have been asked to invest time and money in their bids, when the hopes of deprived areas have been raised to new heights by proposed projects, it is hard for the losing areas to take this week's news in their stride.
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