Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge Town Council has this week expressed “extreme disappointment” at the news that Highbridge will not receive millions of pounds of funding from the Government – but they have vowed to continue work on the plans.
As first reported here, Highbridge’s bid for millions of pounds of ‘Levelling Up’ funding ‘ was formally turned down on Thursday (January 19th). Mendip District Council and Sedgemoor District Council had jointly submitted a £19.3m bid to the government’s Levelling Up fund last summer for projects in Cheddar, Highbridge and Shepton Mallet.
Cllr Lesley Millard, Mayor of Burnham-On-Sea and Highbridge, pictured above at last year’s consultation, said on Friday (January 20th): “Although it is extremely disappointing that this important regeneration project has not received the backing by central government, the plans still stand and we will continue to focus our attention on exploring ways to put those in place.”
“We have plans to develop Highbridge Station as a transport hub as part of our Climate and Ecology Action Plan and we will continue to seek funding to achieve that”.
She adds that the council will continue to put pressure on Somerset County Council to “keep the needs of the town firmly on the agenda.”
“The plan will not disappear, it will be used to focus future plans for the town in partnership with the community. Together we can prioritise development and source funding to continue to respond to local need.”
“The Town Council will work hard to keep the development of Highbridge firmly in our sights for the future.”
The funding bid – which attracted criticism from MP James Heappey last August – was assessed by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC), who announced their decision on Thursday without giving any specific reasons why it had been turned down.
