South Norfolk Council's plans to boost Hethel tech centre blocked

South Norfolk Council submitted a proposal to use £915,788 of government cash to upgrade a junction on the B1135 at Hethel, near Wymondham

Plans to use almost £1m to boost one of the region's largest tech innovation centres have been blocked.

South Norfolk Council submitted a proposal to use £915,788 of government cash to upgrade a junction on the B1135 at Hethel, near Wymondham, which it said would help rural businesses.

The scheme was rejected by the government for not meeting the "necessary requirements".

The Conservative-run authority said it was a "big disappointment".

John Fuller, the Conservative leader of the council, told a cabinet meeting: "Sadly the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs [Defra] has vetoed and stymied our proposed investment in what is a nationally important piece of infrastructure at the Hethel Innovation Centre, which has a record of creating small businesses in the clean energy, low carbon, environmental sector.

"I think they got it wrong. But we know when we're beaten."

The rejection prompted the authority to submit new plans at the 11th hour to meet the deadline to get the money, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

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It identified two areas to use the funds.

Those were £400,000 for installing electric vehicle charging points in towns and villages.

The remaining money would be used to provide grants for businesses, with a preference for those that can help unlock housebuilding.The authority was also awarded a separate pot of £268,354 to create new community facilities or improve existing ones.

A Defra spokesperson said: "We consider all bids in line with the criteria of the Rural England Prosperity Fund, which aims to support local business and community. We take into account a variety of factors when assessing proposals and allocate funding accordingly.

"Unfortunately, this proposal failed to meet the necessary requirements to receive funding. We look forward to receiving the revised proposal from South Norfolk District Council."