Bolsover District Council's £15m of ‘agreed’ Government revamp funding still has to be finalised

During the council’s Local Growth Scrutiny Committee meeting, on June 25, Chairperson Tom Munro suggested the Levelling Up funding was in jeopardy and he said receiving the money is a ‘massive if’ due to a potential change of Government with the pending General Election and the overall scheme was in danger of going ‘belly up’.

However, the council has since announced that ‘contrary to some media reports and misinformation’ it can confirm that the ‘£15m Regeneration Fund’ has been ‘agreed’ and it will be spent across the district.

The council stated among its website bulletins, on July 1: “Contrary to some media reports and misinformation, we can confirm that the £15million Regeneration Fund has been agreed and will be spent across the District of Bolsover.

“Councillors agreed at a recent Executive meeting where the money would be allocated which includes several towns and villages providing real tangible benefits to local businesses, communities and residents.”

The council statement added: “We are to spend £15million across the district as councillors agreed at a recent Executive meeting where the Regeneration Fund money would be allocated.”

But Cllr Munro and the council’s Head of Business Growth Natalie Etches had been under the impression during the subsequent scrutiny meeting that the council had not formally heard that the funding had been awarded following the authority’s Executive meeting on June 24 where the council says councillors had agreed the money is to be spent across the district.

Cllr Munro told the scrutiny meeting during discussions about the allocation of the funding across the region: “All we are waiting now for is the final agreement to advance the money and that’s how I see it.

“I don’t think it’s any different and that is why I think, personally, we can comment on what’s happened and the way decisions are reached but I do not think we are going to influence it if the money materialises and I still think that’s a massive if because if we do have a change of Government it’s been made absolutely clear that priorities will not necessarily lie in this direction.

“We just don’t know where the priorities will lie so this could all go ‘belly-up’ anyway.”

Ms Etches had also told the the same scrutiny meeting – which was a day after the Executive meeting – that the local authority is yet to hear formally that it has been awarded the funding.

She further told the scrutiny meeting that as soon as the council receives a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ – which is a final agreement process – the projects could then get under way at the same time.

The council has released a decision notice from the Executive meeting from June 24 stating the Executive has resolved that receipt of the Regeneration Fund by the council has been approved subject to the terms of the ‘Memorandum of Understanding’, which was referred to by Ms Etches.

A council spokesperson stated: “As we are now in a pre-election period, the guidance we have received from DLUC (Department for Levelling Up and Communities) is that they are currently clarifying guidance on what activities can and cannot be undertaken during this period, such as drafting and signing Memorandum of Understandings, and what activity will need to wait until after elections.”

Bolsover District Council had originally earmarked the funding purely for Bolsover town centre projects but recently revealed not all these could be completed within a deadline, some were no longer viable and it was important not to miss out on the funding so around £6m of the original scheme’s projects stayed in place and alternatives had to be considered for the rest of the money.

The Government-approved projects now include improvement plans to the public realm around the district, enhancing shop fronts and the establishment of community and creative hubs with eight projects across the district including Bolsover, Shirebrook and Pinxton.

Conservative Bolsover Parliamentary candidate Mark Fletcher, the area’s last MP before Parliament was dissolved for the General Election, has accused the council of ‘betraying’ and ‘hijacking’ the original bid for the funding which he says he had helped to secure and he launched a petition urging the council to stick to its original plans for Bolsover town.

Mr Fletcher stated the changed plans with the money spread over a wider area will not have any lasting impact and he argued he would love to have enough money for everywhere but if funding is not concentrated properly then the impact will be minimal.

The council’s scrutiny committee, which had been told by Cllr Munro, on June 25, the funding had not been formally received and may be in jeopardy, passed a motion requesting a meeting with Growth Portfolio holder, Cllr John Ritchie, of the council’s Executive, to discuss the scheme and question the reasoning behind the reallocation of the Levelling Up funding across the region.

In a press release statement released on July 1 the council stated the majority of the money – ‘some £5million’ – will be spent on public realm improvements in Bolsover town, as well as across key town centres.

This will include landscaping and vehicle routes within pedestrian areas, street furniture and signage, improved welcome entry points, and improvements to open market squares, according to the council.

The council stated that £1m has been agreed to improve facades and shop frontages benefiting retail or commercial properties and it will be delivered in the market towns of Bolsover, Clowne and South Normanton, and be extended to the larger villages of Creswell, Whitwell, Pinxton and Tibshelf.

A further £4.3m has been allocated to the purchase of and reconfiguration of prominent buildings in Bolsover town including the former Co-op, former White Swan Public House and 36 and 36a Market Place to provide creative, business and community facilities in the town, according to the council.

The council added that Pinxton will receive around £700,000 to refurbish the former Church Hall providing a community meeting house, a multi-purpose hall, community cafe as well as outdoor seating and a play area for children.

It added that £4m will be spent in Shirebrook on constructing a Green Skills and Retrofit Skills Centre and a new Market Place pavilion.

The council’s Chief Executive, Karen Hanson, said, “When we received notification that this money was place-based, it was agreed to spread it across the district and benefit multiple areas.

“Places like Whitwell, Tibshelf, Pinxton and Creswell will now see this benefit alongside our major market towns as the projects we have identified and agreed will have a real impact in these areas.

“But it’s not just about enhancing the appearance of the area, it is about providing tangible benefits for businesses and opportunities for our residents where they gain new skills and improve their career prospects which is a key ambition of the council’s.”

The Government Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced the funding for Bolsover town in his Autumn Statement specifically to support town centre regeneration, public realm improvements, and cultural and heritage projects within the town based on an original bid and with criteria.

A council report has stated work on the new list of eight projects was due to get under way by June – apart from the Bolsover Community Business Centre which was expected to start by April – with them all due to be completed by March 31, 2026.