Cornwall to get £132m of funding for next three years

There has been mixed reaction to the latest funding announcement for Cornwall

Cornwall is set to receive £132m over the next three years as part of a government-allocated fund.

It is part of the Shared Prosperity Fund which aims to reduce inequalities, the government said.

Cornwall was forecast to receive about £100m a year from the European Union before Brexit, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Conservative members have welcomed the funding, whilst others have expressed concern in the reduced figure.

Cornwall Council had previously submitted a bid to the government to get £700m over the next seven years to match the funding which would have been provided by the EU.

In one report, the council said it was "crucial" Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly continued to receive that level of financial support.

'Huge win'

Minister for Levelling Up, Neil O'Brien, said the funding would "directly tackle the issues" affecting Cornwall and see "the creative, ambitious choices that communities make as they level up and take charge of their destinies".

North Cornwall MP Scott Mann said the investment was a "huge win" for the area.

He said: "Residents will be able to see the impact of this funding on their communities in the coming years and I am proud to have been able to play a part in delivering it."

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, said the money will be "much easier" to administer than the "unwieldy, poorly targeted and often unspent EU funding".

Cornwall Council leader Linda Taylor welcomed the money and said it would let the council deliver on its "ambitions".

'Levelling down'

Jayne Kirkham, leader of the Labour group at County Hall, said on her Facebook page the funding was less than half of what was expected.

"Yet again, they've come up short for Cornwall. Over £150m short," she said.

Independent councillor and former leader of the council, Julian German, said on Twitter that Cornwall has received "far less than promised".

Independent councillor Tim Dwelly said: "This, I'm sorry to say, is what many of us call levelling down. Making Cornwall poorer as a result of a direct government decision."