Debate over £2,500 'levelling up' park chess tables

Chess boards like this one in Wirral have been installed in parks across the North West

Chess tables each costing £2,500 have been installed in parks across the North West as part of the government's levelling up investment programme.

Twenty of the stone boards, which do not include chess pieces, have been placed around Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire and Cumbria.

Leigh-born grandmaster Nigel Short MBE welcomed the investment as "great news" which would benefit the sport.

But community groups have questioned whether the money could have been spent more effectively, and Northern Powerhouse Partnership chief executive Henri Murison said it "summed up just how tokenistic levelling up had become".

'Substantial sum'

Levelling up is the government's policy designed to reduce inequality.

It was a big slogan for the Conservatives ahead of the 2019 general election and a key manifesto commitment.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said its aim was "to create jobs, drive growth, and make sure that people feel enormous pride in the places that they call home".

The BBC has found that, as a region, the north-west of England has benefitted most from the £250,000 chess tables project.

Local authorities which received funding under the Levelling Up Parks Fund (LUPF), were invited to apply for an additional £2,500 for the installation of a chess table and accompanying seats or benches.

The investment forms part of a wider £1m package which aims to both support primary school children in disadvantaged areas to learn and play the game, as well as fund elite-level chess.

"It's not a massive amount of money but it's extremely welcome," said Mr Short.

"If you spent half a million quid on football it's loose change, but for chess this is quite a substantial sum."

The government's hope is that the funding will help England create more grandmasters and return the country to a higher position in the world rankings.

"It doesn't happen overnight and, although I do think we're turning the corner to some degree, I'm not sure it's going to be sufficient to make a big splash," Mr Short added.

Karl Mercer thinks the cash could have been better spent on other park amenities

Karl Mercer, chairman of the Friends of Central Park voluntary group in Wirral, said the board in Wallasey Central Park was a "white elephant".

"I think the £2,500 for this board probably could have been spent on something that is actually going to get used," he said.

Mr Mercer said it "definitely does not" deliver on levelling up.

"I think it should be about things like transport or looking after the community," he said.

"Park budgets around here have been cut right back to the bone, now we've ended up with a chess board that's sort of a white elephant."

Henri Murison argues councils should have more autonomy over spending decisions

The Northern Powerhouse Partnership is a business-led think tank and advocacy group for the North of England which fosters collaboration between local and national government.

Its leader Mr Murison said: "It shows the misunderstanding the prime minister has about how local government works, because his job in central government is to give local government enough money to pick its own priorities, not to throw sweeties at the provinces.

"If there's money to spend, it should be spent on what local people want and need the most. Now, nothing locally happens without some sort of top down initiative.

"This approach of taking big decisions in Whitehall and micro-managing the small decisions is a symptom of a broken relationship between central and local government."

A government spokesman said: "We’re spending £15 billion in levelling up funding to spread opportunity, regenerate areas most in need and enhance cherished community spaces.

"Community chess tables will improve local green spaces, encourage more to play chess together and inspire the next generation of players."

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