Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Uncertainty over bid for £33m funding
City council bosses have been “left on edge” amid uncertainty over the future of a £33 million bid to renovate Canterbury and Herne Bay.
The authority - which hopes to restore Canterbury Castle, the King’s Hall and Dane John Gardens with the cash - was all set to submit its final proposals for a share of the government’s flagship Levelling Up Fund last week.
However the online portal for applications, which was set to be open for five weeks, remained shut on the July 6 deadline day leaving councils across the land in limbo.
They were greeted with a message on the levelling up department’s website stating: “Unfortunately, it has not been possible to launch the online portal on the planned date.”
With the original deadline now passed, there is great uncertainty as to when the portal will reopen for applications.
Council leader Ben Fitter-harding - who has been a key player in drawing up the vision for Canterbury and Herne Bay - said: “It’s left everyone on edge as it has been a massive, massive effort but now no one knows when the next step will be.
“There’s been no information. We’re expecting it to open any day soon, but who can tell?
“Hopefully we can push the button soon as we’re ready to submit. It’s been months of hard work to get it all ready.”
The delay comes amid a turbulent time at Downing Street, with cabinet minister for levelling up, Michael Gove, being sacked by Boris Johnson and replaced by Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark.
Prior to his appointment, the entire department consisted of just one MP following a string of resignations and Mr Gove’s unceremonious departure.
Cllr Fitter-harding does not believe the delays are due to the immense upheaval at Westminster, and are instead down to administrative issues or changes from the first round of bidding last year.
A government spokesman said: “We’re working to open the online portal for the second round of levelling up fund bids as soon as possible.
“Once it’s open it will be live for two weeks to give applicants time to put their bids in.”
Thanks to constituency boundaries dividing the district, the council has put together two separate bids for funding - a £20 million project for Canterbury and £13 million for Herne Bay.
The latter is centred on breathing new life into the King’s Hall by helping it “become the music centre for Kent”, while the former is focused on improving the city’s historical assets.
Opening the Poor Priest’s Hospital, creating ‘story gardens’, regenerating the city wall and clocktower, renovating the castle and creating new walking routes are among the projects planned for Canterbury.