Anger as Cornwall snubbed in funding scheme

John Brown said it was "deeply disappointing" Cornwall had been overlooked for funding

Business leaders have spoken of their anger after Cornwall failed to receive any funding from a new £5bn government programme to help ailing communities.

Labour said the Pride in Place strategy would see £2m distributed over each of the next 10 years to 339 places across the UK.

The Cornwall Chamber of Commerce has raised doubts over the methodology used to decide where the funding would go and stressed the need for more support for local town centres.

The government insisted it was investing in other projects in Cornwall and money had been allocated to those areas of greatest need.

Labour said the Pride in Place funding could be used by communities to enhance public spaces and local high streets.

John Brown, chief executive of the chamber, said: "I'm angry. It's deeply disappointing, we desperately needed it.

"It's all well and good for us to get really decent support into our businesses that are beautifully aligned onto our industrial strategy, but we've got to make sure the communities feel the benefit as well."

He criticised the methodology behind a lack of support for towns like St Austell: "I'm sure there is a miraculous set of indices the government has taken a look at to distribute these funds.

"Personally, I think it's a bit strange that they're attributed to Labour Red Wall areas and, as a result, we perhaps missed out."

St Austell is one of the towns in Cornwall not to have received help for its high street

Trish Hoskin, who runs a town centre business helping young people with their careers, said St Austell was in need of support.

"It's such a shame to see what could be a thriving town with shops closing down all the time, making it difficult for young people to get work," she said.

She added she hoped big-name stores could be attracted to draw in more footfall and support independent shops.

"Other towns like Wadebridge have got lots of little individual shops - that's what St Austell is lacking," she said.

MP Noah Law said more ambitious plans to bring funding into Cornwall were being worked on

The Labour MP for St Austell & Newquay, Noah Law, questioned the methodology used to decide funding, but insisted it was not "all doom and gloom" for Cornwall.

He said: "We've got a much bigger task on our hands to get hold of a devolution deal for Cornwall which covers not just work to revitalise our towns but much else besides.

"I think we can be even more ambitious than Pride in Place funding. We do need that bigger more strategic investment as part of a wider package."

A Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government spokesperson said: "This government has made more than £700m available this year for Cornwall Council to create stronger public services, and hundreds of local jobs through funding for the re-opening of the South Crofty tin mine.

"The Pride in Place programme is just one government funding pot and is going to communities across the country with the greatest need based on a robust methodology."