Labour hit out at 'secrecy' over borough's £25m towns fund bid - The Redditch Standard

Labour hit out at 'secrecy' over borough's £25m towns fund bid

Redditch Editorial 17th Jul, 2020   0

A CALL for more transparency on Redditch’s bid for up to £25million from the Government’s Town’s Deal initiative has been made by the local Labour Party.

A party spokesperson said the ‘silence had been deafening’ since the Conservative-controlled borough council heard back in November last year that the authority had it had qualified for a slice of the £3.6 billion fund to regenerate them for the future.

The Government Prospectus issued in November 2019 set out details for the establishment of a Town’s Deal Board drawn from local authority representatives, local business leaders, MPs, voluntary and community groups, housing investors, sports organisations and education representatives.

It also said profiles on key stakeholders, meeting agendas and minutes, evidence and supporting documents wouldbe made publicly available.




The Redditch Labour spokesperson said: “We understand that this board was due to be formed last January, however its structure, membership and the appointment process has never been revealed.

“The only information the Redditch community has seen are press articles based on press releases from the local MP.


“It appears the future regeneration of our town is being discussed behind closed doors.

“In addition, the original prospectus and more recent guidance recommend that Town Deal Boards embark on widespread consultation with the community. To date there has been little, if any, engagement with the community.

“The current administration was elected on a platform of openness, area forums and to date we have seen little evidence of this.

“If the Conservatives are truly committed to unlocking Redditch then they need to produce the keys to the community.”

However Councillor Matt Dormer, Leader of Redditch Borough Council, who sits on the Town’s Deal Board, denied there was any secrecy.

“There is no cloak and dagger, instead there’s been the small matter of Covid-19 to deal with,” he said.

“Nothing is being held in secret, rather meetings have had to be cancelled because of the ongoing situation.

“It also took some time to find a chairperson from the private sector, and we’re delighted that Adam Freeth from the Orangery in Ipsley has agreed to step forward.

“We are part of the second cohort of applications and the government only produced the prospectus for that last month.

“However we are now moving forward quickly.”

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