Disappointment for Edinburgh as the capital misses out on Levelling Up Fund
Edinburgh’s council leader has expressed disappointment at the city missing out on the latest round of levelling up cash, as SNP councillors dubbed the UK Government a “reverse Robin Hood”.
The capital made a bid for £42 million when entries to the scheme’s second round opened last year and hoped to use the money to invest in cash-strapped theatres and concert venues across the city.
However as the list of successful bidders was unveiled this week Edinburgh was not included.
Cllr Cammy Day, leader of The City of Edinburgh Council, said he still hoped to secure funding for the projects submitted, adding the local authority would look at “new and alternative ways of finding that resource”.
The SNP finance spokesperson, Cllr Lesley Macinnes, said it was clear that councils were “losing out” and the communities most in need were being “sidelined”.
Edinburgh’s previous bid to the competitive levelling up fund, which was launched in 2019 and aims to spread investment around the UK and redress economic imbalances, resulted in £16.4 million being awarded for the regeneration of Granton waterfront.
This time round, the council turned its focus towards the city’s cultural infrastructure and proposed putting any money granted into the restoration of the King’s Theatre, Leith Theatre, the Queen’s Hall and the Usher Hall.
Following news that no cash would go to Edinburgh this time around, the King’s announced earlier today that it was now looking to fundraise £8.9m – which the theatre’s boss said was the “last chance saloon” for the iconic venue.
Cllr Day said: “Of course we’re disappointed that in this round we’ve been unsuccessful, there were some amazing projects put forward, not least the required investment in the fantastic Kings Theatre.
“I accept in the first round we did get some of that resource so we’re pleased we got some of the money and I suppose we’d just urge the UK and Scottish Governments to work together to find the much-needed funding for the capital city on key projects like the Kings and investments across the city.
“We still want to achieve these investments, we’ll just now have to look at new and alternative ways of finding that resource.”
Meanwhile Cllr Macinnes said the fund was “increasingly looking like a reverse Robin Hood adventure – where the UK Government takes from communities in need and redirects precious funds to their favoured areas”.
She said: “It’s telling that the Tories found money for Rishi Sunak’s wealthy constituency but they couldn’t find a single penny for the entire city of Edinburgh.
“It’s clear councils are losing out and communities most in need are being sidelined. It’s about time the Tories stopped pretending this wasn’t our money to begin with.”
by Donald Turvill
The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) is a public service news agency. It is funded by the BBC, provided by the local news sector (in Edinburgh that is Reach plc the publisher behind Edinburgh Live and The Daily Record and used by many qualifying partners. Local Democracy Reporters cover news about top-tier local authorities and other public service organisations.