Shropshire’s rural communities taken for granted again after latest Levelling Up snub

The Government has yet again taken rural communities for granted and ignored the needs of Shropshire as it distributes Levelling Up cash, according to MP Helen Morgan.

Shropshire’s bid for bus funding to help reconnect rural communities across the county was snubbed by the Government, along with proposals that would have benefited Oswestry and Craven Arms that were rejected for a second time.

The towns are two of the more deprived areas of the county but were ignored, while a bid to help redevelop Shrewsbury town centre was approved.

Meanwhile it is the second time that a bid to improve Shropshire’s bus services has been rejected by the Government (after a bid to the Bus Back Better fund was rejected) despite numerous routes across the county being axed in recent years. There is now only one service that operates in the whole of Shropshire on Sundays.

The news comes despite Shropshire Council spending more than £100,000 on previous Levelling Up bids. All three of its bids to the first round of Levelling Up funding were rejected by the Government which has been accused of prioritising cash for areas it wants to win at the next general election.

Senior Conservative councillors at Shropshire Council were among those to criticise the Government’s unfair allocation after the first round of Levelling Up cash was announced.

North Shropshire MP Helen Morgan said the Government had once again prioritised its political agenda over the needs of communities.

Helen Morgan, North Shropshire MP and Lib Dem Levelling Up Spokesperson, said:

“Yet again the Government seems to have ignored the evidence, ignored the needs of rural areas and prioritised the Conservative political agenda.

“Public transport in Shropshire is fading away under the Conservatives and the Government has missed an open goal by failing to invest in buses and failing to invest in our rural communities.

“Rishi Sunak could have helped pensioners reach hospital appointments and helped shoppers reach the high street but instead he has made sure people without a car will remain stranded across Shropshire.

“Families in North Shropshire are sick of larger towns and cities being prioritised at their expense. People in Oswestry deserve Government support but instead they have been taken for granted by the Conservatives once again.

“More than a hundred thousand pounds has been spent by Shropshire Council on applying for Levelling Up funding and I will be seeking a detailed explanation from the Government as to why the majority of people in the county will see no benefit from that money.”

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Notes

• Shropshire Council bid for Levelling Up funding for projects in Oswestry (£16.7m), Craven Arms (£20m), Shrewsbury (£18.7m) and a county-wide public transport scheme (£36.4m).
• All three of the council’s previous Levelling Up bids (Round One) were rejected despite Shropshire Council spending more than £100,000 on the applications.
• Analysis of previous funding allocations has shown how areas with Conservative MPs, or which are target Conservative seats, have benefited from more money. See here, here and here.