Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council cuts £40m from regeneration plan

The former lift at the museum was difficult to maintain, the council said

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has scaled back its town regeneration programme by £40m, claiming not doing so "would have bankrupted us".

It means funding for Nuneaton Art Gallery and Museum refurbishments, and a major cycle lane, have been cut.

The Tory-run council ordered a cost review of all the projects last year.

The review raised questions about its financial position after Birmingham City Council declared itself effectively bankrupt last year.

But Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council has managed to balance its budget for 2024-25 after making £4m in savings.

The budget was signed off at a council meeting at the Town Hall on Wednesday.

It included the details of long-expected proposals to reduce funding for the council's Transforming Nuneaton regeneration programme, with the total budget dropping from £154m to £114m.

Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council said the economic environment had "change dramatically" since plans were approved in 2017

Councillors have slashed £20m from the budget for Grayson Place, which was the centrepiece of the project, and included plans for a Hampton by Hilton hotel, a cinema, offices, homes and a public plaza.

Improvements to a multi-storey car park have been dropped and spending on a residential development called Bridge to Living has been cut by £7m.

Interest payments

The council said the "economic environment has change dramatically" since the regeneration programme was approved in 2017.

"If we had continued as we were, we would have taken out debt, and had to pay £300m each year on the general fund in interest payments alone for the next 40 years," said Sam Croft, the cabinet member for finance.

"In short order, it would have bankrupted us."

He claimed the Conservative administration had "saved the regeneration programme" and was "restoring the council's finances to a sustainable position".

But Green group leader Keith Kondakor said there was little debate at the meeting about "how much had been wasted with design and planning of the aborted projects".

"We must have lost millions over the last three years in wasted effort on regeneration and transport projects that will never happen," the Green councillor said.

"Some elements such as the multi-storey car park were never viable, while other like the museum were good ideas made too expensive by design changes and delays."

Labour said spending cuts had become necessary because the Conservative government had not properly funded councils for years.

In January, the government announced a £600m package to support local authorities in the wake of warnings of further bankruptcies.

All the seats on Nuneaton and Bedworth Borough Council are up for election on 2 May.

Labour will see it as an opportunity to wrest back control of the council, after the Conservatives took over in 2021.

The constituency of Nuneaton will also be in Labour's sights at the next general election, which will take place this year.

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