Levelling-up Fund Round 2: Bidding Process

Kevin Foster Excerpts

Tuesday 7th February 2023 Westminster Hall

[Kevin Foster (Torbay) (Con)]

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Sir Christopher, and I congratulate the hon. Member for Glasgow North East (Anne McLaughlin) on securing the debate.

Over recent years, Torbay has succeeded in many bids, with a significant level of investment provided by the Government since 2015. That includes the Paignton future high streets fund, where we got £13.4 million, and the Torquay town deal, worth £21.9 million. Prior to 2015, it was normally news when Torbay made the list for a funding announcement, as we were often overlooked; now, it is news when we do not. That shows the turnaround in how our bay is regarded, but it does not dampen the sense of disappointment that, for the second time, our bids to the levelling-up fund have failed, despite Torbay being one of the areas where demographics would suggest that levelling up would be aimed.

For background, two bids were submitted in relation to Torbay. The first was the “Fish and Chips” bid, as it was termed, looking to support the expansion of Brixham fish market, which last year saw record sales of more than £60 million, and our cutting-edge photonics sector. The fishing element alone could have allowed for an additional £20 million of catch to be processed through the market each year, creating a forecast 160 new year-round jobs and putting more than £38.5 million into the local economy. The second bid, submitted in partnership with our neighbours in Devon, was for the south Devon cycleway, which would have provided a safe travel network on the most used commuter routes through Teignbridge and Torbay, as well as providing travel choices to Newton Abbot rail station and the upcoming Edginswell rail station. Both those bids failed, the fish market project for the second time.

I accept that there are some questions that we need to consider locally about our approach for the 3rd round, so it would be helpful for the feedback on those bids to be as clear as possible. Is the fish market project one that the Government would fund under levelling up? If not, then, no matter what my thoughts may be on it personally, we can at least reconsider our approach and not waste effort on a third bid. I would also be interested to hear what impact the failure to deliver other Government-funded projects by the coalition of Lib Dems and Independents running Torbay Council may have had on the success or otherwise of our bids. An example is the land release fund, where, after about four years, the £3 million offered has not actually seen a house built. Then we come on to the various delays in their getting major projects under the town deal and Paignton future high streets fund under way. I appreciate that demanding funding on the one hand and then not spending it on the other is hardly a persuasive approach, so it would be helpful to know what impact that had on our success or otherwise in relation to the bids and what considerations there will be, going forward.

It is welcome to see the Minister in her place, and it will be interesting to hear her thoughts on a couple of specific points. First, the obvious query is how candid the feedback will be on our bids? Will it be clear whether a bid is simply not what the Government are looking for under levelling-up funding, and will they then be firm in suggesting that we look at something else? Secondly, what is the impact of the delivery, or not, of other Government-funded capital projects by local authorities on levelling-up funding bids? I accept that the feedback may be good and bad.

The debate has been a welcome opportunity to set out my thoughts on the recent bidding process and its results in Torbay. There is no shying away from the fact that Torbay has challenges, but it also has great potential. The levelling-up agenda should be about unlocking that potential, and that is why my hon. Friend the Member for Totnes (Anthony Mangnall) and I are so keen that Torbay is successful in the next round of bids for levelling-up funding and that the feedback is as clear as possible so that we can put up a bid that does our bay justice.