Claims by the city’s MP that a failed bid for funding for a new leisure centre was flawed have been dismissed by the leader of Lichfield District Council.
The local authority missed out on the Levelling Up funding for the proposed facility at Stychbrook Park.
The news followed claims by Lichfield’s Conservative MP Michael Fabricant that “flaws” in the bid meant the application had not even reached the desk of a minister for a final decision.
The council’s cabinet member for finance has already hit back at the claims – and now Cllr Doug Pullen, leader of the local authority, said the feedback from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities did not support the MP’s comments.
“I’m seeing commentary about a ‘flaw’ in Lichfield District Council’s Levelling Up fund bid.
“The Department for Levelling Up Housing and Communities has not said our bid had a flaw – just that it didn’t score highly enough against their criteria to win.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council;
Cllr Pullen also said he backed comments from the West Midlands Mayor who criticised the Levelling Up process, branding it a “Whitehall bidding and begging bowl culture”.
Andy Street said fiscal devolution to take the power away from civil servants was needed in order to allow local decision makers to decide where money would be best spent.
Cllr Pullen said:
“It perhaps sounds like sour grapes – but I made a speech before the Levelling Up bids were announced – but Andy Street has it 100% right when he says the Levelling Up Fund system is broken and we must decentralise.”
Cllr Doug Pullen, Lichfield District Council;
Good to see Doug Pull (the other) en has eventually spoken up. Difficult to know who to believe on the failed Levelling Up bid – our esteemed MP or Mr ‘Judge me on Friarsgate by January 2023’ ?Who would you trust to fill out a form ?
The bottom line is both Pullen & Fabricant cannot be correct. I can see no hope for a greenfield site submission for money. Why not use Friarsgate for 3rd attempt which will conclude the levelling up scheme
Just shows there is no collegial team working between the MP and Council. Very individualistic unthinking Conservatives spouting off factual inaccuracies. You would have thought Fabbo, Pullen, Eadie and Strachan etc and would have a meeting (possibly even online, whilst dressed correctly of course for the important matter of decision making) so that they could decide how to manage the (much expected) failure of the bid.
Like how Pullen is driving a wedge between Fabbo and Street though – meow.
Both statements can’t be true….one of them is lying. My money’s on Fabbo. He has literally zero problem in lying and throwing people under the bus – especially if it means he can wriggle out of himself.
let’s not forget, this is the same man who has supported sacking nurses…..so, he has zero scruples. A most unpleasant individual.
I never thought this bid for levelling up funding stood much chance, but this is turning into a farce. When even Tories are calling each other liars, there’s not much chance of progress is there?
What’s that saying ‘There is two sides to every story’
Well now I think we can see who is the fibbing one in this scenario – and it’s not El Ginger, it’s El-Moptop.
The part-time Welsh MP ‘we can’t name’ as it brings bad luck to tenders/luf is about as credible as a one handed card dealer with an itch on his plums
Catchphrases don’t build infrastructure, anymore than three-word slogans are policies. Hard cash levels up. Germany has spent over €2 trillion on ensuring that the former East Germany is now richer than many regions of GB & NI.
It’s true that within the ever-shrinking group of Brexit believers there are some who might, not entirely uncharitably, be described as intellectually challenged, but it seems somewhat unlikely that such promises of levelling-up. will fool even them. Snake oil salesmen and magical thinking are so 2016.
Praise the Lord! It seems Monsieur Fabricont hath spent too longe sunning himself in the foreign climes. When he will remember that the so-called “littlest person” is who he is paid by our money?!