Labour dominated Sheffield City Council has formally agreed its unhappiness with the most recent wave of levelling-up funding. With bus services being cut and waiting times through the roof, it’s a fair question. Where’s the money gone?
A motion detailing “why we need to take back control from Whitehall to deliver economic growth for Sheffield,” was passed deep into Monday’s council meeting at Sheffield Town Hall.
The second round of Levelling up funding was announced last month. Yorkshire and the Humber has seen its share of the funding drop by 5.3%. Questions about why Yorkshire has seen a bigger drop than the East Midlands (3.5%), West Midlands (4.1%) and the North East (0.7%) have been asked.
All other regional authorities saw increased funding in round 2. However, a minimum of £27m has been spent by local councils on entering bids for levelling up. This has lead many to be critical of the arguably inefficient ‘battle-royale’ approach to funding that the government are taking.
Councillor Minesh Parekh gave the motion on Monday. He’s passionate about what he and his colleagues see as “unacceptable” governing from Westminster.
“Having to bid £2m, or even £20m, when you have lost over £500m in funding, shows how pitiful the Government’s commitment to levelling up actually is,” Coun Parekh said.
In October 2021, Sheffield received £37m during the first round of levelling up funding.
£20m of the funding went to Castlegate, while £17m went to Attercliffe.
“When it comes to Crookes and Crosspool, it’s the missed opportunities of what we could have funded, what services we could have provided,” said Coun Parekh.
“That is what shows me there is a lack of economic support and growth”.
Among the controversial clean air zone, active bus routes being cut by a third and a perceived lack of support from central government mean that Sheffield residence are frustrated already. The announcement of Levelling Up round two will only add to this.
