Weston’s MP John Penrose held a debate in Parliament yesterday to push Government Ministers about the importance of North Somerset’s bids for Levelling Up Fund and Community Renewal Fund cash to support the next steps in the town’s regeneration.
John was supported in the debate by Liam Fox (MP for North Somerset), and made the point that even though North Somerset District is ranked as a ‘priority 2’ area for the bid evaluations, the constituency of Weston-super-Mare would qualify as ‘priority 1’ if it was taken on its own, and needs regeneration at least as much as neighbouring ‘priority 1’ districts like Mendip and Sedgemoor.
John said: “Although other parts of North Somerset don’t need regeneration, there are parts of Weston that are in the most deprived 2-3% of the country. I called this debate to make the point that we ought to be at the front of the queue for levelling up and regeneration funding, and to push Ministers on how our bid should be given top priority as a result.”
“The good news is that the Minister listened and confirmed that North Somerset Council’s bid will not be ignored because of North Somerset’s priority rating. I hope the debate has put our bid firmly onto his radar!”