Cheltenham and Gloucester councils clash over most 'vibrant' area

Cheltenham is the home of jump racing and is famous for its racecourse

A debate has broken out among politicians from neighbouring authorities over which is the most "vibrant" area.

At a recent Cheltenham Borough Council meeting, one MP hopeful argued that the spa town was better than Gloucester.

But Gloucester City Council's leader refuted the claims, saying Gloucester boasts "huge visitor attractions".

The topic arose during discussions over a joint arrangement to maximise funding.

According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, civic chiefs from Cheltenham, Gloucester and Tewkesbury gathered on 11 December to discuss their votes on creating a joint committee between the three councils.

The initiative would pool together community infrastructure levy (CIL) funding to allow the local authorities to fund infrastructure and facilities in areas where developments are taking place.

Each of the councils have had CIL in place for some time and the total in the pot is currently at almost £12m.

Of this, more than £8m is from developments in the Tewkesbury borough, while £2.5m is from Cheltenham and around £1.2m is from housing in Gloucester.

The three councils believe the initiative will provide a more coherent and less complex approach to making decisions on bids for CIL money.

The joint CIL funding pot currently stands at almost £12m, £2.5m coming from Cheltenham

At the meeting, Max Wilkinson, Cheltenham's cabinet member for economic development, culture, tourism and wellbeing cabinet member, who is also a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, suggested it made sense to share the funding - despite individual contributions not being equal - as most people would head to the spa town to use local services.

"Where do people from Bishop's Cleeve, Churchdown, Brockworth, Shurdington, Tewkesbury and all the little villages in that big rural district come to consume local services?" he said.

"I can tell you it isn't all Tewkesbury town centre. A huge number of them will come to Cheltenham.

"Probably slightly fewer go to Gloucester because of the nature of their city centre. Ours is more vibrant. But those are the two centres."

"I'm not being parochial about this but that is just a fact," he added.

Gloucester Cathedral has featured in three Harry Potter films

Responding to the comments after the meeting, Gloucester City Council leader Richard Cook emphasised Gloucester's assets, including the "world class" cathedral and the docks.

"The council is also investing in major private and public developments at The Forum and the new city centre campus at the old Debenhams building," Councillor Cook said.

"I think Cllr Wilkinson's view must be historical rather than forward looking.

"I'm not in the business of comparing our city to others but in improving Gloucester."