Murky noticed during September 2020 Northumberland Conservatives ran out an optimistic piece of spin regarding the release by Government of £750,000 as a kick-start offer from the Future High Streets fund. One of two funds which along with the 101 high streets fund described by Government and Northumberland Conservatives as £3.6bn capital allowances to help bring life back to worn out and run down High streets across the UK. The split between the funds is £1bn to the Future High Streets fund and £2.6bn to the 101 High Streets Fund cumulatively known by the Ministry of Housing,Communities and Local Government as the Towns Funds.
The Towns funds are privately managed by the project engineers ARUP who will co-ordinate a group of consultants to help develop bids. The early release funding is to be primarily used to ensure the bid is strong and stable. Final bids must be in to Government for evaluation by January 2021 and its believed Northumberland County Council are ready to bring their final offer to the public for comment. The public will then see if the Market Place described by both the military and many architects as one of the best public open spaces nationally will be filled with old shipping containers to be used as shops. We will remind you that a local transport company executive is the Chairperson of the local business project team.
Due to the short run in to the December 2019 General Election the Tories decided to run out their manifesto in short speeches from the PM over a period of six months. In June 2020 as part of the infrastructure manifesto Boris Johnson announced the strengthening up of the Towns funds raising the cap above its earlier versions of £25m in exceptional circumstances. A short while later if MHCLG indicates they are not happy with the conception and planning of final bids there is no guarantee of funding.
The Prime Ministers announcement included an additional funding arrangement which would offer first tranche towns the opportunity to gain access to cash between £500K - £1m to kick-start work and cover the consultancy costs of the bid.
Unfortunately due to the impact of the pandemic a note from the Treasury put back second round bids 'for the foreseeable future'.
This week at the Tory Party conference two top Tories put the national town centre projects in doubt. The Chancellor Rishi Sunak explained he was ready to ditch manifesto pledges to balance the nations books. He said "We have a sacred responsibility to future generations to leave the public finances strong". He went on to say "Through careful management this Conservative Government will always balance the books. If instead we argue there is no limit on what we can spend, that we can simply borrow our way out of any hole then what is the point of us?".
He was backed up wholeheartedly by Sajid Javid Theresa May's austerity Chancellor who advised him to begin a 'radical review' of the nations finances and look at every departments books and zero base their project expenditure. He said "What I found in every Government department that I inherited… if you ask the officials for a spreadsheet, a list of every programme that department is working on, the cost, the number of full time equivalent people working on each project, how much has been spent and how much is programmed to be spent you will find programmes and projects that are no longer necessary".
Blyth and the Towns fund are peripheral to the current needs of a nation who will have to find cash to pay Universal Credit to an additional 1.3m claimant's from 31st October also Councils are not fully prepared to handle those claimant's need to access Council Tax and other benefits.
At least it may halt the possibility that rusting containers will be the new eyeful visitors will remember following their trip to the Town.
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