Levelling Up: Chorley locals react to missing out on the Levelling Up fund announced by the Government

The Post spoke to Chorley residents after the town missed out on the UK government’s Levelling Up Fund after plans to transform the former bingo hall site opposite the town hall - which has been operating as a temporary car park since late last year.

Lancashire as a whole has secured £200m of government cash to fund a plethora of projects designed to reduce inequalities between different parts of the country – including £50m towards the estimated £100m cost of the Eden Project North in Morecambe and £49.6m for a raft of transport improvements in East Lancashire, spearheaded by the county council. However, Chorley Council was unsuccessful in its pitch, which included proposed public space, sports and housing schemes.

How did Chorley residents react?

A mixed range of opinions have been given from locals as some said they preferred the convenience of the town center parking currently on offer with the temporary car park across from the town hall, while others said that the new complex would’ve added more vibrancy to the district.

Helen Birkett, 22, said: “I think it would’ve been really good, especially for young people, to give a few more options and get people to come out and drink and bring the community together.”

Augustus Quililan, 77, said about the car park: “It makes the town much more accessible, particularly with people with disabilities.”

Karl Smith, 30, said: “I think it’s disappointing for the local area, I do work in Chorley, it’s a good market town and it would’ve been good for the local area to have a bit more attraction. It would’ve been nice to have something else to draw people in.”

What does Chorley’s council leader say?

Chorley Council leader Alistair Bradley said that while he was disappointed that the government had not seen the merits of the trio of projects, the decision did not mean it was the end of the road for any or all of the planned schemes.

“We had a good bid and it remains ready to go tomorrow – all we need is some assistance.

Different parts of it could come forward with different funding mechanisms, but obviously that’s more difficult than getting one lump of money. At the moment, borrowing is also expensive, so it’s about timing.

“But these are schemes we want to do – we may end up doing them in phases, but the things that we [have proposed] are there for very good reasons. It’s not just because the money was on offer,” Cllr Bradley said.

That, he fears, may not be the case with schemes in other parts of the country which have been successful in their bids – and the Labour politician says Chorley will be “standing ready” if any of those other projects fail to materialise.

“That’s not to belittle anybody else’s projects, but I do find it a bit odd that [places like Chorley] who have a proven track record of delivery and who use less money to achieve more, are at times ignored.