Disappointment at failed Hampshire and Isle of Wight levelling up bids

Portsmouth had planned a new cultural quarter for the city centre

Portsmouth has been "overlooked" after missing out on so-called levelling up funding, a city MP has said.

The government allocated £2.1bn for "transformational" projects aimed at boosting local economies.

Stephen Morgan MP said the rejection of Portsmouth's bid to transform the city centre showed the government "simply don't care about our communities".

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said most levelling up funding was going to "the most deprived parts of our country".

The idea of "levelling up" - or reducing regional inequality - was a key part of Boris Johnson's 2019 election campaign.

Southampton was awarded £20m to upgrade the Outdoor Sports Centre

Its aim was to close the gap between rich and poor parts of the country by improving services such as education, broadband and transport.

The Portsmouth bid would have seen the creation of a "truly world class city centre", including car-free spaces along with improvements to the Guildhall and Theatre Royal.

Mr Morgan, Labour MP for Portsmouth South, said he was "deeply disappointed" the city received no funding in the latest round of financial handouts from the government.

"Investment in our city centre would have revitalised Portsmouth and I know from speaking with residents and local businesses that there was great hope that the government would back our bid, especially after cutting so many services in the city over the years," he said.

"The government has again overlooked Portsmouth, proving once and for all that 'levelling up' has never been anything more than a slogan."

Bob Seely MP had pressed the island's case for funding with minister Dehenna Davison in November

Southampton received £20m to improve the athletics centre and create a new sports pitch at the Outdoor Sports Centre.

The city council had also applied for funding for heritage enhancements to the Bargate, transport connectivity and the regeneration of Mayflower Park, as well as money for flood defences and cycleway improvements along the shores of the River Itchen.

Satvir Kaur, leader of Southampton City Council, said the sports centre funding was a "vote of confidence" in the city.

"Although the bids for Heart of the City and Drivers Wharf Riverside Protection were unsuccessful, there is much work to be done across those projects as we look to alternative funding arrangements and revised timescales to deliver them," she added.

In a tweet, Sarah Bogle, member for economic development, said the process was a "lottery".

"Local gov [sic] deserves proper funding and proper devolution," she added.

Hampshire County Council also failed for a second time in its bid for funds to improve walking and cycling routes into Havant and Gosport town centres.

The only other successful bid in Hampshire saw £20m agreed for a state-of-the-art leisure centre, library and cultural space in Farnborough.

'Feel pride'

The Isle of Wight, allocated £5.8m in the first round of funding in 2021, was unsuccessful in its bid for the Island Green Link, a multimillion-pound sustainable transport project.

The island's Conservative MP Bob Seely insisted the previous grant for a heavy lifting crane in East Cowes shipyard had been the "absolute priority".

He also said the island had received "an additional £120m" over the past five years, including funding for St Mary's Hospital, Island Line rail infrastructure and Isle of Wight College.

Speaking in Lancashire earlier, Rishi Sunak defended the richer south-east of England getting more than the north-east.

He said: "Two thirds of all the levelling up funding is going to the most deprived parts of our country.

"Levelling up is about making sure people feel pride in the places they call home - it's about driving jobs and investment."