Durham council to challenge government on why levelling up bids failed

Durham County Council leader, Amanda Hopgood told councillors that the authority discovered its round two bids were unsuccessful after a government minister admitted that areas successful in the first round of bids could not be successful in round two.

Yet the county’s future investment prospects were further called into question at a full council meeting on Wednesday by the Labour opposition, who questioned whether the government have neglected the county.

Cllr Carl Marshall said budget cuts, high levels of child poverty, and the lowest life expectancy mean the region is in danger of being left behind. “Can the leader of the council please explain what she now thinks levelling up now looks like to County Durham and our people,” he said.

A new North East devolution deal would significantly contribute to levelling up the region, cllr Hopgood added, and said the bidding failure would not affect the council’s plans to build the economy and further develop communities.

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She added: “Over the last 18 months we have absolutely demonstrated our ambition for County Durham. Regardless of what we've submitted, it's been announced this week, that we wouldn't have been successful with any of it because the criteria was changed.

"We will be taking this up with government, along with all of the areas who submitted and were successful in round one.

Despite eventually losing out in the final round of the City of Culture bid, the council generated around £8million in publicity.

“I believe that this administration has showed that County Durham is first and foremost of our priority for everybody who lives here and we are ambitious about taking us forward and not living in the past,” Cllr Hopgood added.

“I believe that this administration has showed that County Durham is first and foremost of our priority for everybody who lives here and we are ambitious about taking us forward and not living in the past.”

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A benefit of the joint devolution deal with six other regional authorities allows the council to ‘control’ future decisions and investments, Cllr Hopgood told the meeting. The Lib Dem leader also shrugged off a suggestion that the government had written off and turned its back on County Durham by rejecting the levelling up bids.

Cllr Hopgood added: “We will be looking at each of those bids that were unsuccessful. We'll be looking at the criteria now that we know that apparently there'll be a third round of funding.

"But equally we'll want to know the criteria before we enter that process. I wouldn't expect us to be submitting a bid for it to fail on the first round.”