Levelling Up funding snub ignores the community in Ilfracombe.

The Government has failed to inject money and support local communities in Ilfracombe in today’s Levelling Up funding announcement. North Devon Council spent a great deal of time preparing an excellent bid for badly needed money but unfortunately the Government did not give us the support we need. 

It comes despite Rishi Sunak’s own constituency of Richmond in Yorkshire receiving £19m of levelling up funding.

If the bid had been successful, it would have provided funding to improve sea defences and regenerate the sea front area of Ilfracombe.

Responding to the news that Ilfracombe has been left out of the latest round of investment and received no levelling up funding from the Government, Councillor Ian Roome, Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for North Devon said: 

“This Conservative Government has chosen to ignore the pleas of our local community, showing yet again they are taking families here for granted. Had our bid been successful, the lives of people in Ilfracombe, an area which suffers from a lot of deprivation, would have been significantly improved.

“Instead, we have been left out and forced to fend for ourselves while the Prime Minister lines the pocket of his own area. It’s a disgrace. 

“The people of Ilfracombe have been let down today, but the Liberal Democrats will ensure that the Government’s decision does not mean we are left behind. We will never stop fighting for a fair deal for our community.”